■^ill_  •y*i-fIS;!:!»l.l..U>:»C-r'l--  ^^.n-MIIWA*     «..!.IKWi\-.V-— .- 


THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


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CATHOLIC  MEMOIRS 


OF 


VERMONT  AND  p  H/MPSHIR 


WITH  SKETCHES  OF  THE  LIVES  OF 


REV,  ¥M.  HENRY  HOYT 


1? 

Li, 


AKD 


F  A  NN  Y      ALLEN. 

ALSO  WITH  ACCOUNTS  HERETOFORE  UNPUBLISHED  OF 

THE    LIVES    OF 

Rev,  Daniel  Barber,  Rev,  Horace  Barber,  S,  J„ 

AND  jEf  SHA  BARBEI|_, 

NAMED    IN    EELIGION 

SISTER    MARY    AUGUSTIN. 


•  '••••       •     J 


ALSO  ^tmi  .*&iAKY:OF*T^l^i^-lvETTERS. 


'•  •  •  •  *  *  -   * 

■  w  ♦ •■ 


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•  •  •  •      • 


•  •     *  •      •       • 


^    -  1  a — a — • — » 


•  •  t «  • 


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....    • 
•   •  .  •  ♦ 


B  U  R  L  I  N<3fTJ>>^; .  V  Ffi  ^'O  N 


fy-iTjcL. 


IMPRIMATUK  : 

t  LOUIS,  Bp.  of  Burlington,  Vt. 


Copyrght  1836, 
By    L.    deGoesbriand, 


I      <:  ^      ci  . 

c    t    (.  t     c       I  t 

t  C  t        ti    I  > 

tct*cc*cc  , 

'        '  t         '■'■  ,1  \_       -  ^       <         .       .       C      .  .      I 

i<^  t       ^t'  '•cC        cc      cc      t-ccct 

<        'i       fctr  «        ct       ccicc 


<■    t      < 

(      c  c  c 


PREFACE. 


-<•►- 


When  we  first  began  to  collect^onr  Catholic  memoirs  of  Burlington, 
we  never  dreamed  that  our  compiTaHon  would  make  a  book  of  this 
size.  We  merely  intended  to  increase  devotion  to  St.  Joseph  by  re- 
lating some  of  the  favors  obtained  through  his  mediation,  and  also  to 
correct  some  inaccurate  statements  which  have  been  published,  con- 
cerning Sister  Fanny  Allen,  and  the  Barber  family  of  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire.  We  intended  particularly  to  excite  interest  towards  the 
new  College  of  St.  Joseph  by  drawing  attention  to  the  holy  associations 
attached  to  the  site  which  it  occupies.  We  intended  to  say  a  few 
words  about  our  dear  Father  Hoyt,  who  for  many  years  lived  in  Bur- 
lington, and  whose  sacred  dust  lies  now  in  the  cemetery  of  Mount  St. 
Joseph.  But  when  we  went  to  work  we  found  so  many  interesting 
documents,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  upon  our  subject,  that  the 
work  has  obtained  larger  proportions  than  vre  expected. 

We  humbly,  but  firmly,  hope  that  this  work  will  be  read  exten- 
sively, because  it  is  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Church,  not  only 
in  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  but  in  all  the  States  of  New  Eng- 
land, Canada,  New  York  and  many  other  places. 

We  rejoice  in  the  hope  that  the  work  will  do  much  good,  for  it 
contains  the  lives  of  many  heroic  souls,  whose  examples  Avill  excite 
others  to  walk  in  their  steps.  Some  of  the  letters  which  it  contains  will 
also  be  found  most  edifying  to  persons  living  in  the  world,  or  out  of 
the  world  in  religious  communities. 

The  sources  from  which  we  have  drawn  our  information  will  be 
indicated,  in  proper  prefaces  to  each  chapter,  or  in  marginal  references. 
We  pray  God  to  bless  all  those  who  have  enabled  us  to  publish  these 
Memoirs. 

We  bid  our  little  book  to  go  forth  under  the  patronage  of  St. 
Joseph,  for  the  glory  of  the  most  Holy  Sacrament. 


Burhngton,  Vt.,  Dec.  8th,  1885. 


LOUIS  deGOESBRIAND, 

Bp.  of  Burlington. 


ST.  JOSEPH,  OUR  PROTECTOR, 


^^"""^HE  following  pa^-es  have  been  written  with  a  view  to  promote 
I  devotion  to  St.  Joseph,  and  also  with  a  desire  to  preserve  the 

^  memory  of  graces  received  through  his  intercession  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Burlington, 

St.  Joseph,  the  spouse  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  foster-father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  where  pilgrims  to  the 
Holy  Land  are  to  this  day  shown  the  place  once  occupied  by  his  dwell- 
ing. He  was  issued  of  the  royal  house  of  David,  but  had  not  inherited 
much  of  this  w^orld's  goods  from  his  ancestors,  and  was  obliged  to  earn 
his  bread  at  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  by  working  at  his  trade,  which  was 
that  of  a  carpenter.  Though  unknown  outside  of  Bethlehem,  he  en- 
joyed a  distinction  much  more  precious  than  the  favor  of  men.  He 
was,  we  may  say  it,  without  fear  of  exaggeration,  more  beloved  of 
God,  than  any  man  then  in  existence.  He  was  just,  and  Almighty 
God  had  adorned  his  soul  with  all  the  graces  becoming  a  man  who  was 
to  live  on  earth,  so  closely  united  to  the  Son  of  God  and  to  his  mother. 
On  the  day  that  Mary  and  Joseph  were  united  in  holy  marriage,  I 
fancy  that  angels  admired  the  blessedness  of  him  who  was  to  be  the 
companion  and  protector  of  her  who  was  the  most  exalted  of  all  crea- 
tures, and  destined  to  become  the  queen  of  men  and  of  all  heavenly 
spirits. 

What  were  the  sentiments  of  those  heavenly  spirits  towards  Saii^t 
Joseph  when  they  were  sent  to  Bethlehem  to  adore  the  Saviour,  Christ 
the  Lord?  For  the  infant  God  Vv'as  found  with  Joseph  and  Mary  in 
the  stable,  and  the  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  was  commanded  to 
sing  :  "  Gloiy  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace  to  men  of 
good  will.  " 

From  the  blessed  moment  of  our  Lord's  nativity.  Saint  Joseph  was 
under  the  special  protection  of  angels  who  communicated  to  him  the 
behests  of  heaven,  concerning  the  holy  family  of  which  he  was  the 
head. 

Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  pictures  of  St.  Joseph 
given  us  by  Catholic  artists.  Each  of  those  images  convey  to  our  souls 
sentiments  of  veneration,  of  love  and  confidence.    Now  we  see  him 


6  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

holding  in  his  hand  the  white  lily,  a  fit  emblem  of  the  purity  of  him 
who  was  the  spouse  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and  the  witness  of  her 
virtues  ;  now  we  see  him  humbly  standing  before  the  manger,  whilst 
the  shepherds  or  the  wise  men  adore  the  word  incarnate  and  offer  Hira 
their  presents  ;  here  we  behold  him  carrying  the  Divine  Infant  in  his 
arms  or  leading  Ilim  by  the  hand  whilst  journeying  toward  Kazareth. 
An  interior  view  of  the  shop  of  St.  Joseph  represents  him  at  work 
helped  by  the  God-child,  and  finally  vrhen  the  time  of  St.  Joseph's  de- 
mise has  come,  we  see  him  assisted  by  Jesus  and  Mary  in  his  agony. 
It  thus  happens  that  all  the  memoirs  of  St.  Joseph  are  full  of  sweet- 
ness to  well-instructed  Christian.  Fathers  and  mothers  love  to  place 
their  children  under  his  protection.  The  laboring  men  who  earn  their 
bread  at  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  consider  him,  as  it  were,  one  of  their 
own  ;  one  who  feels  for  them  and  will  protect  them.  They  who  are 
tried  by  poverty  trust  in  the  prayei  s  of  Him  who  was  the  purveyor  of 
the  Holy  Family,  and  the  sick  and  the  dying  feel  that  the  foster-father 
of  Jesus  and  husband  of  Mary  can  not  fail  to  obtain  for  themselves  a 
happy  death. 

There  is  another  class  of  persons  who  love  to  implore  the  protec- 
tion of  St.  Joseph.  We  refer  here  to  missionary  bishops  and  priests  and 
to  relis-ious  communities,  who  devote  themselves  to  the  introduction 
and  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  countries.  As  the  great  St. 
Joseph  was  in  the  hands  of  God  the  instrument  which  He  used  to  in- 
troduce the  knowledge  of  Christ  in  the  world,  missionaries  are  con- 
vinced that  by  praying  to  St.  Joseph  their  labors  will  be  blessed  and 
that  many  stray  sheep  will  be  brought  back  into  the  fold. 


DEVOTION    TO    ST.    JOSEPH    IX    CANADA. 

There  are  in  our  days  in  all  parts  of  the  world  a  great  number  of 
religious  communities  of  St.  Joseph,  of  men  and  women,  which  have 
left  their  country  and  established  themselves  in  distant  lands  for  the 
purpose  of  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ  amongst  heretics  and  in- 
fidels. 

When  Mr.  de  Champlain,  the  discoverer  of  our  beautiful  lake, 
way  trying  to  found  a  Catholic  colony  in  Quebec,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  XVII.  Century,  he  had  to  encounter  very  great  dangers  and  dilfi- 
culties.  Chief  amongst  those  v^'ere  the  fear  of  the  terrible  Iroquois; 
the  small  number  of  the  immigrants  ;  the  ill  disposition  of  the  Hugue- 
nots who  lived  amongst  them,  and  the  want  of  help  from  the  govern- 
ment of  the  mother  country.     Fortunately  some  of  the  settlers  were 


St.    JOSEPH   IN    CANADA.  7 

fervent  Catholics,  and  about  the  year  1624  they  chose  St.  Joseph  to  be 
the  patron  and  guardian  of  their  country.  This  election  was  made  by 
the  people  and  the  civil  authorities  ;  it  was  approved  by  the  clergy  and 
confirmed  by  the  Pope. 

The  settlers  of  Quebec  were  Avont  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  St. 
Joseph  with  great  solemnity  ;  and  besides  the  solemn  services  in  the 
church,  they  had  on  that  day  illuminations,  processions  and  fire  w^orks. 
St.  Joseph  rew^arded  the  piety  of  the  good  Catholics  of  Quebec,  and  a 
few  years  after  their  choice  of  him  for  their  protector,  he  sent  to  their 
shores  a  remarkable  Avoman,  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  who  has  been 
declared  venerable  by  the  church. 

Under  the  patronage,  and  as  she  herself  believed  under  the  inspira- 
tion and  guidance  of  St.  Joseph,  she  left  her  convent  at  Tours,  in 
France,  and  founded  in  Canada  a  house  of  the  Ursulines,  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  children  and  the  conversion  of  the  pagan  Indians.  To 
the  labors  of  this  saintly  person  and  of  her  associates,  Quebec  owes  to 
have  preserved  its  faith,  and  to  a  great  degree  also  to  have  been  saved 
from  many  calamities.  The  blessings  wdiich  Mary  of  the  Incarnation 
procured  to  Canada  were  partly  communicated  to  us  in  the  United 
States,  as  there  are  many  of  our  Catholic  ladies  who  were  educated  by 
them,  and  also  because  many  houses  of  Ursulines  have  been  founded 
from  this  first  house  of  the  order  in  Quebec. 

Devotion  to  St.  Joseph  continues  to  exist  in  the  Ursuline  convent 
of  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  and  we  here  translate  w^hat  the  annalist  of 
their  house  wrote  (1863)  concerning  the  celebration  of  the  19th  of  March 
in  their  beloved  convent.  (She  w^rote  especially  for  the  former  pupils 
of  the  convent .) 

"  Come  back  in  spirit,  dear  reader,  within  the  cloister  on  the  19th 
of  March.  To-day  the  church  and  the  chapel  have  put  on  their 
choicest  ornaments  in  honor  of  their  holy  patron.  The  greater  part  of 
the  day  is  spent  at  the  foot  of  the  altars  ;  both  the  religious  and  their 
pupils  strive  to  offer  to  St.  Joseph  the  expression  of  their  gratitude,  of 
their  love,  of  their  confidence  in  his  protection.  Don't  you  think  that 
his  countenance  to-day  appears  more  radiant  ?  Methinks  he  loves  to 
have  such  a  load  of  requests  to  present  to  the  Divine  Infant  whom  he 
carries  in  his  arms. 

"  When  this  beautiful  day  approaches  its  decline,  the  religious 
family  meets  once. more  to  salute  its  glorious  protector.  First  of  all 
w^e  visit  the  places  which  our  patron  guarded  during  the  year.  In 
place  of  the  bonfires  of  old,  the  images  and  statues  of  St.  Joseph  have 
been  decorated  with  lights  and  flowers.  Here  is  St.  Joseph  of  the 
treasury,  guarding  the  treasury,  keeping  aw^ay  robbers  ;  up  the  great 
stairs,  leading  to  the  granary,  w^e  have  St.  Joseph  of  the  granary,  w  ho 


8  CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 

must  provide  his  children  with  their  daily  bread  ;  in  the  kitchen  we 
have  St.  Joseph  at  work,  who,  for  two  hundred  years  past,  has  blest 
the  humble  labours  of  God's  servants. 

"  We  stop  a  little  longer  at  the  door  of  the  Infirmary,  and  here  our 
hymn  to  St.  Joseph  is  one  of  our  sweetest  ones.  St.  Joseph  watches 
vv'itli  great  attention  at  the  door  of  this  room  ;  he  will  welcome  us  here 
with  a  sweet  smile,  and  promises  to  console  us  in  sickness,  to  obtain 
for  us  a  blessed  death. 

"Let  us  go  back  to  the  holy  place.  How  charming  are  the  chants 
of  which  devotion  and  fervour  constitute  the  chief  harmony  !  No 
doubt  that  angels  carry  them  at  once  to  St.  Joseph,  v>^ho  is  a  patron 
and  guide  as  they  are."    (Les  Ursulines  de  Quebec,  vol.  1,  p.  308.) 

Concerning  Montreal,  the  other  more  ancient  and  important  point 
of  Canada,  it  is  remarkable  that  the  founders  of  that  colony,  who  were 
very  devout  Catholics,  undertook  its  formation  with  a  view  to  procure 
thereby  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  and  to  establish  a  community  of 
Christians  who,  by  their  fervour,  would  emulate  the  heroic  charity  of 
the  early  Christians.  For  this  purpose  they  planned  the  establishment 
of  three  religious  congregations  or  communities,  one  of  which,  a  com- 
munity of  priests,  would  employ  itself  in  preaching  the  Gospel ;  the 
other  would  devote  itself  to  the  education  and  instniction  of  the  young, 
and  the  third  to  the  service  of  the  sick  and  the  dying. 

In  this  manner,  they  justly  thought,  they  would  imitate  the  holy 
family  of  Nazareth.  The  priests,  by  their  teachings  and  instruc- 
tions, would  continue  on  earth  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  teaching 
congregation  would  continue  and  show  forth  the  virtues  of  Mary,  vir- 
gin and  mother  ;  and  the  third  congregation,  devoted  to  the  care  of  the 
sick,  would  represent  St.  Joseph,  the  guide  and  protector  of  the  poor 
family.  I  need  not  remark  concerning  Montreal,  that  the  Sulpicians 
and  the  Sisters  of  the  congregation  were  the  two  first  communities  which 
employed  themselves  in  the  care  of  souls  and  the  instruction  of  the 
young.  But  the  mission  of  St.  Joseph  on  earth  was  there  represented 
by  the  founding  of  the  Hotel-Bleu,  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph .  It  was  well  for  the  young  colony  of  Montreal  that  these 
devoted  sisters  were  there  in  its  infancy,  when  the  colonists,  so  few  in 
number,  saw  so  many  of  their  members  v>'ounded  or  killed  by  the  terri- 
ble Iroquois,  As  early  as  the  year  1606  many  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
stationed  in  the  newly  erected  fort  of  St.  Anne  in  Isle  Lamot  owed 
their  escape  from  certain  death  to  the  care  they  received  at  the  hands 
of  these  sisters,  to  whose  hospital  they  were  taken  from  their  distant 
island.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  are  true  to  the 
spirit  of  their  first  mother,  and  in  their  immense  and  admirable  new 
hospital  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  in  Montreal,  they  nearly  always 


ST.    JOSEPH   IN    CANADA.  d 

have  some  patients  of  Vermont  or  other  New  England  States.  There 
many  are  cured,  owing,  perhaps,  more  to  the  pra3'ers  and  excellent 
musing  of  the  sisters  than  to  the  skill  of  their  admirable  phj'sicians 
and  surgeons.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  are  a  cloistered  community. 
In  their  works  of  charity  they  are  not  encouraged  b}^  the  hope  of  be- 
ing praised  by  men.  The  remembrance  of  St.  Joseph  ministering  to 
the  Son  of  God,  the  honor  in  the  sight  of  God  attached  to  this  office, 
the  hope  of  the  greater  reward  promised  to  works  of  mercy,  are  the 
chief  incentives  to  their  life  of  devotion. 

As  St.  Joseph  was  the  guide  of  Jesus  Christ  poor,  Idnrj  of  the  poor 
and  founder  of  the  evangelical  p)oxerty ,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  love  to 
turn  their  eyes  to  him  in  the  midst  of  their  labors,  and  his  pictures  or 
statues  are  to  be  seen  in  all  their  departments  or  oratories.  The  picture 
of  St.  Joseph  which  we  see  more  frequently  in  Montreal  is  the  one 
v.diicli  represents  him  journeying  on  foot  with  the  Holy  Virgin  and  the 
child  Jesus.  We  presume  that  this  representation  is  thus  placed  under 
the  eyes  of  the  Catholics  of  Canada,  because  from  the  beginning  of  its 
colonization  the  Catholic  immigrants,  as  also  the  Indian  converts,  were 
frequently  exhorted  to  w^alk  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph. 


10 


CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 


Motiier,  beliold  the  man  who  saved  me." 


ALTAR    TO    ST.    JOSEPH 


IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  BURLINGTON, 


8T.    JOSEPH   IN   BURLINGTON.  11 

Devotion  to  St.  Joseph  is  a  devotion  of  the  Catholic  church.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  some  memorial  of  St.  Joseph  should  have  been 
placed  in  the  Cathedral  of  Burlinf,^ton,  the  first  Cathedral  erected  in 
New  England.  Was  it  not  quite  fitting  that  the  chaste  and  holy 
Joseph  should  have  a  shrine  near  the  altar  of  IVIary,  immaculate  in  her 
conception?'^' 

In  the  old  church  of  St.  Mary,  erected  by  the  venerable  Father 
Jeremiah  O'Callnghan,  in  our  city,  there  was  also  a  statue  of  St. 
Joseph,  which  we  still  preserve,  and  before  which  many  fervent 
praj'ers  were  poured  forth  to  St.  Joseph,  before  the  erection  of  the 
Cathedral.  It  was  out  of  gratitude  for  favors  received  by  the  Catholics 
of  Burlington,  that  on  the  19th  of  March,  1871,  they  unanimously 
elected  him  for  the  second  patron  of  their  parish,  and  after  this  event 
we  had  an  additional  motive  to  express  to  him  our  veneration  and 
gratitude  by  erecting  him  a  shrine  in  the  new  Cathedral  of  Burlington. 

The  altar  of  St.  Joseph  is  the  one  nearer  the  vestry,  opposite  the 
southwestern  door  of  the  church. 

Looking  up  to  the  window  above  this  altar  you  vvill  notice  that  the 
figured  glass  represents  St.  Joseph  d3ing,  assisted  by  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  mother. 

Tv.'o  angels  hovering  above  the  placid  form  of  our  Saint  hold  out 
a  scroll  with  the  words  so  appropriate  to  his  position  :  "  Blessed  are 
they  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  their  works  follow  them."  In  the  tri- 
foliated  part  of  this  window,  suffering  souls,  from  the  midst  of  purg- 
ing flames,  offer  fervent  supplications  to  their  Saviour.  All  this  shows 
you  that  you  are  invited  to  come  before  this  altar  of  St.  Joseph  to 
pray  for  a  happy  death  for  yourselves,  and  also  to  offer  fervent  prayers 
to  God  for  the  repose  of  the  departed  souls. 

If  you  noAV  examine  the  altar  itself,  you  will  notice  that  the  holy 
names,  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph  are  written  in  front  of  it  in  letters  of 
gold,  and  that  above  the  table  of  said  altar  there  is  a  group  of  statues 
representing  the  holy  family.  This  memorial  of  the  Holy  Family  is 
fjuite  appropriate  in  a  church  v.-here  parents  and  children  assemble  to 
worship  God  and  prepare  their  souls  for  eternity.  God  grant  that 
children  may  imitate  the  meekness  and  obedience  of  Jesus  Christ,  that 
maidens  and  mothers  may  strive  to  imitate  the  purity,  the  devotion  of 
Mary  ;  that  the  poor  may  learn  to  bear  their  trials  as  St.  Joseph  did, 
and  to  obtain  a  share  in  his  devotion  towards  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord, 
his  son  by  adoption. 

We  shall  see,  however,  in  other  chapters  tlie  chief  motive  which  led 
to  the  selection  of  this  particular  group  for  the  Cathedral  of  Burlington, 


This  is  the  title  of  the  Cathedral  of  BurMngton. 


CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


Fanny  ){wm,  the  Fhi^^t  M\  of  New  England. 


Fanxy  Allen  was  the  daiigliter  of  the  famous  General  Ethan 
Allen  whose  remarkable  monument  stands  conspicuous  in  the  Green 
Mount  Cemetery  of  Burlington,  on  the  bank  of  the  Winooski  river, 
facing;  the  pretty  village  of  that  name.  Ethan  Allen,  after  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  had  married  at  Westminster,  Vermont,  a  widovr  lady, 
Mistress  Buchanan,  on  February  16th,  1784.  Fanny  was  born  on  the 
13th  of  November  of  the  same  year  (from  a  note  in  Ethan  Allen's  hand- 
writing, quoted  by  Z.  Thompson.  See  Vermont  Gazetteer,  vol.  1,  p. 
570).  Ethan  Alien  moved  to  Burlington  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1787, 
and  settled  on  the  farm  known  since  as  the  Van  Ness,  and  now  as  the 
Brooks  farm.  He  died  here  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy  on  February  12th,  1789. 
It  follows  that  Fanny  Allen  must  have  lived  in  Burlington  two  years, 
and  was  not  five  old  years  when  she  left  it  with  her  mother  to  return  to 
Westminster,  Vermont,  after  the  death  of  her  father.  In  October, 
1793,  her  mother  was  married  in  Westminster  to  one  Jabez  Penniman, 
and  she  continued  to  live  Vv'ith  them  in  said  town  till  her  step-father, 
having  been  appointed  collector  of  customs  at  Swanton  (18C1),  moved 
his  family  to  this  latter  place,  where  they  lived  till  1809.*  When  his 
term  of  office  was  over,  he  bought  the  Penniman  farm  in  Colchester, 
near  the  high  bridge  across  the  Winooski  river.  "Mr.  Jabez  Penni- 
man was  capable  of  appreciating  the  rich  treasure  committed  to  his 
care  in  the  person  of  young  Fanny  Allen.  Every  advantage  the  coun- 
try afforded  was  secured  to  develop  and  polish  the  gem  of  which  he 
was  inexpressibly  fond  and  over  which  he  watched  with  a  solicitude 
as  tender  as  her  own  father  could  have  exercised."  (Mrs.  Julia  Smalley 
in  the  Catholic  World,  vol.  16,  p.  502.) 

From  the  pen  of  the  same  writer  we  have  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  Miss  Fanny  Allen:  "  Fanny  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
General  Ethan  Allen,  and  inherited  much  of  the  energy  and  decision 
of  his  character,  controlled  by  womanly  gentleness.  In  person  she  was 
rather  above  than  below  medium  height,  and  of  uncommon  beauty  in 
form  and  feature.  Her  complexion  was  fair,  her  eyes  dark  blue,  with 
a  singular  depth  and  calmness  of  expression,  while  the  dignity  and 
ease  of  her  manners  gave  quiet  evidence  to  the  refinement  and  loveli- 
ness of  her  character.  In  the  qualities  which  adorn  the  domestic  and 
social  circle,  she  was  unsurpassed.     (Vermont  Gazetteer,  vol.  1,  p.  367.) 

*The  pUce  which  they  occupied  in  Swanton  is  now  known  as  the  Ferriss  p^ace. 


FANNY   ALLEN  13 

Of  the  religious  training  and  sentiments  of  Fanny  Allen,  the  same 
contributor  writes  (in  the  Catholic  World):  "At  that  time  the  gay 
society  in  New  England  was  tinctured  with  the  species  of  infidelity  in- 
troduced and  fostered  by  the  writings  of  Thomas  Paine  and  his  disci- 
ples, amongst  whom  Fanny's  father  had  been  conspicuous.  Her  step- 
father, Doctor  Penniraan,  was  not  of  that  school,  but  he  detested  the 
cant  and  puritanism  of  the  only  religious  people  he  had  ever  known, 
regarding  them  as  pretensions,  of  which  even  those  who  adopted  them, 
were  often  the  unconscious  dupes.  He  had  never  been  drawn  within 
reach  of  better  influences.  He  conducted  the  education  of  his  gifted 
daughter,  therefore,  with  the  most  scrupulous  care  to  avoid  entirely  all 
consideration  of  religion  in  any  form.  When  her  active  and  earnest 
mind  would  go  beyond  the  veil  he  had  so  carefully  drawn  between 
its  pursuits  and  the  interests  of  eternity,  and  sent  her  to  startle  him  with 
some  questions  touching  those  interests,  which  he  could  only  answer  by 
evasive  ridicules,  or  an  emphatic  request  that  she  would  refrain  from 
troubling  her  head  about  such  matters,  she  would  retire  to  ponder 
within  herself,  even  while  striving  to  obey  her  earthly  father,  the  higher 
obligations  imposed  by  one  in  heaven.  Light  and  wisdom  from  above 
soon  illuminated  the  soul  that  surrendered  itself  a  willing  victim  before 
the  altar  of  eternal  truth.  She  was  led  by  a  divine  hand  through  paths 
she  knew  not,  to  a  temple  of  which  she  had  scarcely  heard,  and  whilst 
still  living  amongst  those  to  v/hom  the  Catholic  religion  was  entirely 
imknown,  entered  its  portals  to  find  herself,  scarcely  less  to  her  own 
astonishment  than  to  the  amazement  and  horror  of  her  devoted  parents, 
a  Catholic,  as  firmly  established,  and  steadfastly  resolved,  as  if  she  had 
been  born  and  educated  in  the  faith.  " 

When  Miss  Allen  had  reached  her  23d  year,  she  asked  and  obtained 
the  consent  of  her  parents  to  go  to  Montreal  in  order  to  study  French, 
but  probably  with  a  secret  desire  to  obtain  information  concerning  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Cathohcs. 


FANNY      ALLEN 

ADMITTED  AS  A  BOARDER  IN  THE  CONVENT  OF  THE  SISTERS  OF  THE 
CONGREGATION  IN  MONTREAL — HER  CONVERSION. 

"  Before  giving  her  their  consent  to  go  to  Montreal,  the  parents  of 
Fanny  Allen  required  of  her  to  receive  the  rite  of  baptism  at  the  hands 
of  a  Protestant  minister,  and  though  strongly  objecting  to  that  desire  she 
yielded  to  it  in  order  to  please  her  mother.  The  minister  who  perform- 
ed the  ceremony  was  the  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  of  Claremont,  Nev/  Hamp- 
shire, who  was  invited  to  the  house.  During  the  ceremony  Fanny  did 
naught  but  laugh,  and  the  minister  who  perhaps  knew  nothing  of  her 


14  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

disposition  was  shocked  at  her  irreligious  levity  of  manner  and  reproved 
her  somewhat  sharply  for  the  same.  "    (Vie  de  Mile.  Mance). 

In  Montreal  she  was  at  once  admitted  as  a  boarder  in  the  Convent 
School  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation,  (in  1807). 

' '  Here  it  was  perceived  that  she  was  quite  set  in  her  own  way  of 
thinking.  She  would  never  accept  a  sentiment  different  from  her  own, 
except  upon  irrecusable  evidence  ;  neither  did  she  dissimulate  her  un- 
belief in  matters  of  religion.  On  a  certain  day,  one  of  the  Sisters,  by  a 
sort  of  inspiration,  asked  Fanny  Allen  to  take  a  vase  of  flowers  which 
she  gave  her,  and  to  carry  it  upon  the  altar  upon  which  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment was  present,  recommending  her  to  adore  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
when  she  would  enter  the  sanctuary.  The  young  lady  started  smil- 
ing, fully  intending  not  to  comply  with  the  request ;  but  as  she  opened 
the  gate  of  the  chancel  she  felt  arrested  by  an  invisible  power,  and 
quite  unable  to  move  a  step. 

Three  times  did  she  endeavor  to  go  up  the  sanctuary,  and  three 
times  she  failed  in  her  attempt.  Surprised  and  overcome  she  at  last 
fell  on  her  knees  and  in  the  sincerity  of  her  soul  adored  Jesus  Christ, 
of  whose  real  presence  in  the  Eucharist  she  then  became  fully  con- 
vinced. Immediately  after  she  withdrew  to  a  remote  part  of  the  church 
where  she  shed  abundance  of  tears  and  said  to  herself  :  'After  this  mirac- 
ulous occurrence,  I  must  give  myself  up  to  my  Saviour. '  She,  however, 
did  not  at  once  inform  her  teachers  of  what  had  happened,  but  desired 
to  be  instructed,  and  made  up  her  mind  some  time  after,  to  go  to  con- 
fession. After  she  was  sufficiently  instructed,  she  made  her  solemn 
abjuration  and  was  baptized  by  the  parish  priest  of  Montreal,  Rev.  L. 
Saulnier  ;  for  the  former  baptism  was  invalid  for  want  of  consent  on 
her  part.  After  her  baptism  she  received  her  first  communion,  and  on 
this  very  occasion  resolved  to  embrace  the  religious  life.  "  (xVddiiion 
aux  annalles  hospitalieres  Yille  Marie), 

' '  The  circumstance  of  her  conversion  to  the  Catholic  faith,  at  a 
time  when  very  little  was  known  of  that  religion  in  Vermont,  was 
regarded  as  a  remarkable  one,  and  created  excitement  in  her  family,  in 
general  society  where  she  was  widely  known,  and  peculiarily  fitted  to 
shine  ;  and  indeed  as  far  as  the  name  of  her  distinguished  father  was 
known.  This  excitement  of  course  was  greatly  increased,  when  her 
solemn  determination  to  take  the  veil  was  disclosed.  "  (Vermont  Gazet- 
teer, Vol.  1,  567).  Her  parents  immediately  brought  her  back  to  their 
home  in  S wanton.  In  a  beautiful  description  of  a  brilliant  party  which 
took  place  in  Sheldon,  Vermont,  after  the  return  of  Fanny  Allen  from 
Montreal,  after  her  conversion,  we  read  the  following  passage  concern- 
ing her  character  and  her  trials.  (A  Christmas  Memory,  Cathohc 
World,  Vol.  16,  p.  507). 


FAJSfJSrr   ALLEN.  15 

"  The  grief  and  indignation  of  licr  parents  knew  no  bounds.  They 
looked  upon  it  as  a  most  disgraceful  infatuation.  Peremptorily  impos- 
ing silence  upon  her  in  relation  to  the  subject,  they  determined  to  sup- 
press it,  if  possible,  until  every  means  had  been  used  to  divert  her  mind 
from  the  fatal  delusion. 

All  the  vv'ilcs  and  artifices  of  the  gayest  and  most  fashionable  circles 
in  various  American  cities  to  which  she  was  taken,  were  exhausted  in 
vain  to  captivate  her  youthful  fancy  and  deliver  her  soul  from  its 
mysterious  thraldom.  In  vain  the  ardent  addresses  of  devoted  ad- 
mirers, who  were  destined  in  the  near  future  to  be  the  brightest  orna- 
ments the  bench  and  bar  of  their  state  could  boast,  were  laid  at  her  feet. 
In  vain  were  all  those  worldy  allurements,  generally  so  irresistible  to 
the  young,  spread  before  her.  Her  soul  turned  steadfastly  away  from 
each  bewitching  enticement,  to  solace  itself  with  thoughts  of  the  hum- 
ble sanctuary  in  Montreal,  where  the  weary  bird  had  found  a  place  in 
which  she  might  build  her  nest,  even  within  the  tabernacle  of  thy  house, 
O  Lord  of  hosts  ! 

"In  the  autumn  preceding  the  Christmas  festival  of  which  I 
write,  the  ramblers  had  returned  from  their  fruitless  wanderings. 
Fanny's  parents,  discouraged  and  discomfited,  resolved  at  this  crisis  to 
enlist  the  zeal  of  a  few  very  intimate  friends  in  their  cause,  by  disclos- 
ing to  them  the  great  and  unaccountable  calamity  which  had  befallen 
their  child. 

"Among  those  v%^hom  they  earnestly  entreated  to  aid  them  in  their 
efforts  to  extricate  her  from  the  grasp  of  the  great  deceiver,  was  the 
lady  with  whom  she  was  now  passing  the  weeks  of  the  early  winter. 
A  Connecticut  Episcopalian  of  the  High  Church  stamp,  she  occupied 
what  they  playfully  called  a  '  half-way  house,'  at  which  they  hoped 
she  would  be  able  to  persuade  Fanny  to  stop.  She  invited  several  gay 
ladies  to  meet  and  enliven  Fanny's  visit,  but  took  the  greatest  pains  to 
conceal  from  them  the  religious  tendencies  of  her  beautiful  guest.  She 
entered  with  great  zeal  upon  every  scheme  for  winter  pastimes,  in  the 
hope  of  diverting  the  mind  of  her  young  friend  from  its  absorbing 
theme.  In  their  private  conversations,  she  exhausted  every  argument 
to  convince  Fanny  that  the  Episcopal  church  offered  all  the  c'onsola- 
tions  for  which  her  soul  was  yearning.  In  vain,  in  vain  !  She  who 
had  been  called  to  drink  from  the  fountain-head  could  not  slake  her 
thirst  with  draughts  from  scattered  pools,  which  brought  no  refresh- 
ment to  her  fainting  spirit.  Tain  also  were  the  precautions  used  for 
concealment,  fcjuspicions  soon  arose  among  her  companions  that  there 
was  something  wrong  with  Fanny.  A  rosary  had  been  partially  re- 
vealed as  she  drew  her  handkerchief  from  her  pocket.  Worse  still  •  a 
crucifix  had  been  discovered  under  her  pillow  !     Here  were  proofs' of 


16  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

superstition  indeed,  of  rank  idolatry  in  unmistakable  form,  and  no  one 
knows  to  what  unimaginable  extent !  Tlicn  it  began  to  be  whispered 
around  the  admiring  and  compaf  sionate  circle  that  she  had  not  only- 
taken  the  first  step  on  the  downward  road,  but  was  even  now  contem- 
plating the  still  more  fatal  and  final  one  of  religious  immolation  ! 

It  vvas  their  apprehension  of  this  direful  result  which  imparted  a 
new  and  melancholy  interest  in  their  eyes  to  all  her  words  and  actions. 
Though  she  maintained  a  modest  reserve  upon  the  subjects  dearest  to 
her  heart,  they  thought  they  could  discover  some  mysterious  connec- 
tion with  these  in  every  expression  she  uttered. 

On  several  occasions,  the  most  adventurous  of  her  companions  en- 
deavored to  penetrate  the  silence  that  sealed  her  lips  in  regard  to  her 
religious  convictions,  by  direct  questions,  and,  when  these  failed,  by 
ridicule  of  such  "  absurd  superstitions;"  but  to  no  purpose.  Her 
nearest  approach  to  any  satisfactory  remark  was  in  reply  to  one  of 
these  questions  :  "  It  is  impossible  to  convey  any  clear  idea  to  your 
mind,  in  its  present  state,  concerning  these  matters.  Your  opinions 
are  founded  upon  prejudice,  and  your  prejudices  are  the  result  of  your 
entire  ignorance  in  relation  to  them.  If  you  really  desire  to  be  better 
informed,  you  need,  first  of  all,  to  pray  with  humility  for  light  and 
guidance,  and  then  seek  for  knowledge.  If  you  do  this  with  sincerity 
you  will  surely  be  instructed,  and  '  know  of  the  doctrine  ;'  but,  if  you 
refuse  to  take  this  first  step,  all  the  teaching  in  the  world  will  be  of  no 
avail.  '  They  have  Moses  and  ihe  prophets  ;  let  them  hear  them . 
If  they  believe  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would  they  believe 
though  one  should  come  to  them  from  the  dead.'  " 

She  rebuked  ridicule  with  such  calm  dignity  that  it  was  soon 
abandoned,  one  of  her  assailants,  a  very  lively  young  lady,  remarking 
one  day  :  "  It  is  astonishing  to  see  how  terribly  in  earnest  Fanny  is  ! 
She  certainly  believes  in  the  Cathohc  religion  with  all  her  heart,  though 
how  a  person  with  her  extensive  information  and  splendid  talents  can 
receive  such  absurdities  is  a  puzzle  to  common  sense  !  " 

But  her  severe  trials  were  in  her  home.  Her  parents  were  unut- 
terably grieved  when  she  persisted  in  accepting  the  Catholic  faith. 
This  further  determination  to  forsake  those  who  had  so  fondly  loved 
and  tenderly  cherished  her,  and  who  were  to  justly  proud  of  the  use 
she  had  made  of  the  opportunities  for  improvement  which  their  sohci- 
tude  had  secured  for  her,  was  beyond  human  endurance. 

If  she  had  been  the  victim  of  adversity  or  of  disappointed  hopes, 
there  might  have  been  seme  excuse  ;  but  that  the  idol  of  doting  parents 
should  abandon  her  elegant  home  to  the  desolation  in  which  her  de- 
parture would  enshroud  it,  and  turn  from  all  the  advantages  that 
wealth,  position  and  the  homage  of  society  could  offer,  dashing  to  the 


FANNY   ALLEN.  17 

ground  en  tlic  very  tliicsliold  of  life  the  brilliant  prcspeets  which  were 
opening  before  her,  was  worse  than  madncfs  !  They  ccraplaincd  bit- 
terly to  her  of  her  ingratitude  and  licaitlci^s  diFiegnd  cf  Iheir  feelings 
and  wishes  ;  poured  unmeasured  and  contemptuous  reproaches  upon 
her  for  stifling  the  modest  wcmanly  instincts  cf  her  refined  and  delicate 
nature,  to  strike  out  boldly  upon  a  new  road  hitherto  untrodden  by  any 
wxman  in  New  England.  Kcmonstrances,  pleading,  reproaches  and 
contempt  were  alike  unavailing.  LiEttnirg  cnjy  to  the  pcr.sua.sicns  of 
that  "  invisible  lover,"  whcsc  voice  had  called  her  to  relinqui.'rh  the 
seductive  charms  which  surrounded  her  worldly  course,  she  turned 
away  from  them  steadfastly,  to  follow  Him  and  carry  His  cross  up  the 
steep  and  thorny  paths  of  penance  and  self-abnegation,  offering  her- 
self entirely  to  him  on  the  Calvary  made  gloricus  to  her  by  His  pre- 
cious blood. 

Not  immediately,  however,  like  those  whom  He  called  of  old,  did 
she  "  leave  the  ship  and  her  father  to  follow  him."*  Weary  years  of 
waiting  and  yearning,  far  frcm  the 'tabernacle  where  her  soul  had 
chosen  its  home,  did  she  accord  in  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of 
those,  so  truly  and  so  deeply  beloved,  who  could  not  give  her  up,  and 
who  had  no  clue  by  which  to  trace  the  course  her  spirit  was  taking,  or 
power  even  to  conjecture  the  motives  that  actuated  her. 

When  at  length  the  time  arrived  to  which  they  had  consented  to 
limit  her  stay  with  them,  who  shall  describe  the  pangs  that  rent  her 
heart  in  a  parting  so  full  of  grief  ;  in  severing  those  nearest  and  dear- 
est ties,  and  in  witnessing  the  anguish  which  overwhelmed  those 
around  whom  her  tenderest  earthly  affections  were  entwined  ? 

Alone,  but  full  of  peace,  "leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  bdoved," 
did  she  tread  the  painful  path. 


FANNY  ALLEN  RETURNS  TO  MONTREAL. 

Fanny  Allen  remained  at  home  in  Swanton  as  long  as  she 
had  promised  to  stay,  and  this  we  have  reason  to  believe  w^as  one,  but 
no  more  than  one,  year. 

During  the  lenten  season  that  intervened,  she  kept  very  strictly  the 
laws  of  fast  and  abstinence,  and  in  fact  treated  herself  with  so  much 
severity  that  she  actually  injured  her  health,  which  w\ns  naturally  deli- 
cate.    She  declared  to  her  parents  that  she  must  now  embrace  the  rc- 


*'\ye  do  not  think  that  Fanny  Allen  remained  more  that  one  year  at  home  after  rctiux- 
ing  from  Montreal, 

2 


IS  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

ligious  life.  Her  mother,  who  was  so  fond  of  her,  and  had  no  desire 
but  for  her  happiness,  not  only  gave  her  consent,  but  went  with  her  to 
Montreal.  She  had  not  yet  determined  to  enter  any  one  particular 
religious  house,  but  had  only  resolved  to  consecrate  her  whole  life  to 
God  in  a  religious  community.  With  a  view  to  make  her  selection, 
she  visited  the  churches  of  Montreal,  and  amcngst  the  rest  the  Church 
of  the  Hotel-Dieu  of  St.  Joseph. 

She  hardly  cast  her  eyes  upon  the  painting  of  the  holj^  family 
placed  behind  the  great  altar  and  beheld  the  face  of  St.  Joseph,  that 
she  cried  out  and  said  to  her  mother  :  "  That  is  himself.  You  sec, 
mother,  that  St,  Joseph  wishes  me  to  live  here,  he  it  was  who  saved  me 
from  the  monster.  "  She  by  these  words  reminded  her  mother  of  an 
event  which  had  occurred  when  she  was  twelve  years  of  age.  As  she 
vras  walking  along  a  river  and  locking  out  upon  the  water  which  was 
much  agitated,  she  saw  arising  out  of  it  an  enormous  beast  of  monstrous 
shape  which  was  coming  towards  her.  In  her  terror  she  thought  she 
could  not  take  her  eyes  from  it,  nor  stir  from  where  she  was,  when  all 
at  once  she  thought  she  saw  near  her  a  venerable,  bald-headed  man, 
Vv'rapped  up  in  a  brown  cloak,  and  carrying  a  stick  in  his  hand,  who 
took  hold  of  her  arm,  saying  :  ''Little  girl,  what  do  you  do  here  ? 
make  haste  and  run  away.  "  At  the  sound  of  his  voice  she  recovered 
her  strength  and  made  towards  home  in  a  hurry,  turning  about,  how- 
ever, to  see  the  old  man,  but  he  had  disappeared.  When  she  reached 
home,  her  mother  noticing  her  excited  condition  and  the  changed  ap- 
pearance of  her  features,  understood  that  some  extraordinary  accident 
must  have  happened,  and  the  child  told  her  the  best  she  could  and  the 
cause  of  her  terror  and  the  manner  of  her  rescue  by  the  old  man. 

Mistress  Penniman  immediately  sent  a  servant  in  search  of  this  old 
man,  desiring  to  thank  him  for  saving  her  daughter  ;  but  they  could 
never  find  him  or  knov/  who  he  was.  When  Fanny  Allen,  in  the 
Church  of  the  Hotel-Dieu,  recognized  the  features  of  the  man  v;ho 
saved  her,  in  the  portrait  of  St.  Joseph  over  the  altar,  she  was  strength- 
ened in  the  resolution  to  embrace  the  religious  life,  and  bccam-C  con- 
\inccd  that  she  miust  become  a  Sister  of  ilic  IIotcl-Dku  of  St.  Joseph. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  knovr  whether  the  event  here  related  was  a  real 
apparition,  or  simply  an  impression  produ';ed  on  her  mind.  Ee  this  as 
it  will,  she  remained  convinced  that  she  vras  indebted  to  this  old  man  for 
the  preservation  of  her  life,  and  the  remembrance  of  his  features  remained 
£0  present  in  her  memory,  that  thirteen  years  after,  she  at  once  recognized 
the  identity  cf  face  and  dress  in  the  painting,  and  loudly  expressed  her 
surprise  and  astonishment.  May  we  not  say  that  this  animal  which 
v/as  about  to  devour  her,  was  a  figure  of  the  more  terrible  monster  of 


FANNY    ALLEN.  19 

infidelity  and  heresy  from  which  she  was  saved  by  St.  Joseph,  who  led 
her,  as  in  safe  haven,  into  one  of  the  houses  of  his  institute  ? 

Fanny  Allen  went  at  once  to  the  Sister  Superior,  Mother  de 
Celozon,  begging  to  be  received  amongst  her  daughters.  The  Mother 
Superior,  who  knew  very  little  about  her,  thought  it  well  not  to  receive 
her  in  the  house  immediately  ;  she  invited  her  to  go  back  for  some  tim.e 
to  the  Boarding  School  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation,  that  she  might 
acquire  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  French  and  be  more  thoroughly 
instructed  in  the  faith.  Fanny  Allen  followed  this  direction, — vrent 
back  to  the  boarding  school,  remained  there  till  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber Of  that  year,  1808,  and  was  finally  received  as  a  novice  at  the  Hotel- 
Dieu  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month.  The  next  spiing  Mr.  Pcnuimau 
and  his  wife  came  to  Montreal  to  see  her  ;  they  visited  the  monastery  in 
all  its  details,  were  surprised  to  see  how  happy,  contented  and  perfectly 
united  amongst  themselves  were  the  Sisters  of  this  community.  They 
had  imagined  that  Catholic  Convents  w^ere  no  better  than  so  many 
prisons,  and  they  were  so  pleased  with  what  they  saw,  that  they  con- 
tinually spoke  of  the  happiness  of  those  Sisters,  and  congratulated  the 
young  novice  on  the  choice  of  life  she  had  made.  She  also  felt  so  pleased 
to  see  her  parents  free  from  former  prejudices  against  the  religious 
life,  that  she  seemed  to  grow  more  fervent  in  the  service  of  God,  and  in 
the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  her  state.  When  the  time  of  her  pro- 
fession had  come  (1810)  many  of  her  acquaintances  of  the  United  States 
came  to  v^itness  this  solemn  action.  They  filled  the  whole  chancel,  and 
the  church  itself  was  ciuite  full.  All  the  Americans  cculd  not  but 
wonder  at  seeing  this  young  lady  of  Vermont  shut  herself  up  in  a  con- 
vent for  the  rest  of  her  life. 

NoTF.s.  1.  When  Fanny  Allen  entered  the  Hotel-Dleu,  that  hospital  and  convent  was 
situated  across  the  street  from  the  Sulpitian's  house  and  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  A  few 
years  ago  the  former  hospital  was  given  up,  and  a  new  one  built  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mountain,  which  is  remarkable  by  its  immense  size. 

2.  In  almost  every  religious  community  there  is  a  Sister,  \\hose  duty  it  is  to  keep  a 
record  of  everything  that  happens  in  the  community,  and  they  are  particularly  careful  to 
write  down  and  preserve  in  their  archives  ever  j  thing  cor  necttd  with  the  reception  of  novices 
and  their  profession  or  solemn  consecration  to  God. 

3.  Vve  have  seen  the  picture  of  the  Holy  Family  referred  to  above,  where  it  was  in  the 
place  where  Fanny  Allen  saw  it,  and  wo  heard  the  historj^  of  iliss  Allen's  conversion  and 
subsequently  embracing  the  religious  life,  just  near  the  spot  where  the  sight  of  the 
painting  made  such  an  impression  on  her.  We  have  also  conversed  with  some  of  the  old 
Sisters,  who  knew  Sister  Allen,  one  of  whom  died  lately  (August,  1S84),  at  the  Hotel-Ditu. 
The  old  oil  painting  of  the  Holy  Fcmi'y  has  been  taken  to  the  new  house  near  the  Moun- 
tain ;  but  it  is  now  so  much  defaced,  that  the  Sisters  keep  it  into  their  interior  chapel. 

4.  Although  Fanny  Allen  lived  in  the  town  of  BurHngton  (from  1787  to  1789)  we 
think  that  the  vision  or  apparition  t;id  not  occur  here  but  in  Wcslmioieter,  Yt.,  for» 
according  to  the  annalist  of  the  Hotel-Dieu,  she  was  V2  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the 
WQurrence,  and  we  see  no  reason  to  question  the  veracity  of  this  historian, 


20  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

FANNY   >LLEN, 

A  Sister  at  the  Hotel-Dieu — Her  Death. 

"  Sister  Allen,  after  her  profession,  realized  by  her  zeal,  regulniity 
and  other  religious  virtues,  all  the  hopes  which  the  Sisters  had  formed 
of  her  after  all  the  trials  she  had  to  go  through  before  being  admitted 
as  a  member."  "  During  the  few  years  that  she  spent  in  the  convent 
she  was  nearly  the  whole  time  employed  in  teaching  and  comforting 
the  sick  who  spoke  the  English  language,  and  particularly  the  Ameri- 
cans. She  cro"UTicd  this  glorious  apostolate  on  her  death  bed,  as  ap- 
pears from  our  annals.  Her  health  was  too  delicate  to  permit  her  to 
undergo  the  fatigue  attached  to  some  offices,  which,  though  much 
prized  by  men,  are  in  reality  nothing  but  a  severe  servitude.  Sister 
Allen  died  at  the  ace  of  35,  after  manv  vears  of  sufferings  and  debilitv, 
and  had  lived  only  nine  years  as  a  professed  sister.  It  may,  therefore, 
h?  rightly  conjectured  that  when  she  appeared  before  her  God,  she 
had  nothing  to  answer  for  others,  but  that  she  appeared  before  Him  in 
glory,  and  replenished  with  joy  on  account  of  the  many  sinners  she 
had  brought  back  to  the  fold  of  the  Divine  Shepherd."  (Letter  of  the 
sister  in  charge  of  the  Hotel-Dieu,  to  L.  deGoesbriand,  1885.) 

The  following  lines  will  show  how  decided  was  the  character  of 
the  good  sister  :  "  Her  step-father  often  spoke  of  the  great  trial  her 
conversion  and  profession  was  to  him  and  her  mother,  and  that  he 
steadfastlv  refused  to  pavanvthino-  luto  the  community  on  her  account, 
intending  to  give  what  was  due  to  her  from  her  father's  estate  to.  her 
brother,  until  he  found  it  would  make  no  difference  in  her  decision,  as 
she  cheerfully  but  respectfully  declared  to  him  that  she  would  servo 
the  convent  in  the  kitchen  and  household  work  in  lieu  of  the  fees  just 
as  willingly  as  in  the  nursing  department."  (Mrs.  Julia  Smalley  to  L. 
deGoesbriand,  May  21st,  1S85.) 

Sister  Allen  lived  happy  far  away  from  friends  and  country,  realiz- 
ing in  her  person  the  promise  of  Him  who  said  :  "  Amen,  I  say  to 
you.  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left  house,  or  parents,  or  brethren,  or 
VN-ife,  or  children,  for  the  kingdom  of  God's  sake,  who  shall  not  re- 
ceive much  more  in  this  present  time  and  in  the  v,-orld  to  come,  life 
everlasting."    (Luc  xvni :  29,  80.) 

Her  Sheldon  friend  (1)  visited  her  repeatedly,  and  was  amazed  to 
find  her  radiant  with  a  joy  which  her  countenance  had  never  before 
revealed,  happy  in  the  peaceful  home  that  offered  only  poverty  and  an 
unceasing  round  of  labors  in  the  service  of  the  sick  and  sufferinir,  with 


(1)  Mistress  Marvin,  mother  of  Mrs.  Julia  Smalley, 


FANNY   ALLEN  M 

a  happiness  which  the  splendors  of  her  worldly  one  would  never  im- 
part."   (Catholic  World.) 

The  gifted  daughter  of  this  Sheldon  friend,  Mrs.  Julia  Smalley, 
writes  us  as'follows  of  one  of  those  visits  : 

'  I  think  it  was  during  the  third  winter  after  Fanny  Allen  entered 
the  convent  that  my  mother's  (I)  interview,  to  which  you  refer,  took 
place.  My  mother  had  seen  her  in  her  chosen  sanctuary  several  times 
before.  My  aunt,  Mrs.  Pierce,  my  mother's  sister,  lived  in  3Iontreal, 
and  upon  her  occasional  visits  to  her  sister,  she  always  called,  as  she 
had  promised,  to  see  Fanny. 

"Upon  this  occasion  there  was,  as  usual,  another  sister  in  the 
room,  and  my  mother  asked  Sister  Fanny,  in  a  low"  voice,  if  she  might 
be  permitted  a  few  words  with  her  alone,  upon  wdiich  she  spoke  in 
French  to  the  other  sister,  who  left  the  room  at  once.  My  mother  then 
came  very  near  Fanny,  and  taking  both  her  hands  in  her  own,  said 
very  solemnly  :  '  I  have  so  longed,  my  dear  Fanny,  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion which  you  may  not,  perhaps,  be  at  liberty  to  answer  under  your 
present  obligations,  but  I  have  felt  so  anxious  that  I  could  not  sleep 
nights  for  thinking  of  you  ;  and  I  know  you  will,  on  that  account,  ex- 
cuse me  if  I  seem  impertinent.  I  have  feared,  beyond  expression, 
your  making  the  direful  discovery  that  you  had  committed  a  fatal  and 
irretrievable  mistake,  and  were  consequently  suffering  sorely  in  an  en- 
forced silence.  You  have  now  been  here  long  enough  to  know"  the 
w^orst,  and  I  beg  that,  if  you  may  not  tell  me  in  tcords,  you  will,  at 
least,  give  me  some  token  by  wdiich  I  may  know"  if  my  fears  are  well 
founded.' 

"  Fanny,  surprised  and  puzzled  at  first  by  my  mother's  mysterious 
manner,  no  sooner  comprehended  the  drift  of  her  question  and  anxiety 
that  she  gave  w-ay  to  such  a  peal  of  laughter  as  was  perfect  music  to 
my  mother's  ears,  and  sufficiently  answered  the  cpestion  without 
words.  As  soon  as  she  could  speak  from  laughing,  she  exclaimed  : 
'And  you,  too,  my  dear  friend,  of  whom  I  have  hoped  better  things, 
are  still  enthralled  under  the  superstitious  bondage  of  poor,  benighted 
Protestantism  in  regard  to  the  conditions  of  the  conventual  life  ! ' 

"My  mother  assured  her  that  her  mind  w"as  entirely  relieved,  and 
she  could  now  think  of  her,  as  contented  and  happy  in  the  choice  she 
had  made,  with  perfect  satisfaction.  When  about  to  leave  Fanny  said 
to  her  :  "Now  to  convince  you  that  I  am  not  imprisoned  within  these 
walls,  as  you  suppose,  I  will  take  a  little  walk  with  you  outside  of  our 
enclosure.  "  So  throwing  a  hooded  mantle  over  her  head  and  should- 
ers, they  passed  out  into  the  street.  The  weather  was  intensely  cold, 
the  sidewalk  very  icy,  Fanny,  accustomed  to  walk  only  upon  tloors, 
found  it  extremely  difficult  to  keep  from  slipping,  and  my  mother, 


23  GATHOLIG    MEMOIRS. 

alarmed  lest  she  might  fall,  insisted  upon  her  return— indeed  assisted 
her  to  do  so,  and  they  parted  at  the  Convent  gate.  " 

"  Multitudes  of  New  England  people  visiting  ^lontreal  Hocked  to 
the  Convent,  begging  to  sec  the  lovely  young  Nun  of  the  Hotel-Dieu, 
who  was  the  first  daughter  New  England  had  given  to  the  sacred 
enclosure  and  whom  they  claimed  as  belonging  especially  to  them 
through  her  connection  with  their  favorite  revolutionary  hero." 

So  continual  were  these  interruptions,  that  she  was  driven  at 
length  to  obtain  the  permission  of  the  Mother  Superior  absolutely  to 
decline  appearing  in  answer  to  such  calls,  except  when  they  were  made 
by  friends  of  former  days,  for  whom  she  still  preserved  and  cherished 
the  liveliest  affection.  "     (Catholic  AVorld). 

"  On  the  eleventh  year  after  taking  the  religious  habit.  Sister  Allen 
was  seized  with  some  affection  of  the  lungs,  and  the  disease  having 
become  alarming,  she  asked  of  the  Mother  Superior  to  be  attended  by 
an  American  physician  of  her  acquaintance  who  resided  in  Montreal. 
The  request  was  granted.     The  doctor,  who  was  a  Protestant,  did  all 
in  his  power  to  restore  her  to  health,  but  in  vain.     Providence  permit- 
ted that  he  was  present  when  she  died.      When  he  saw  all  the  Sisters 
bathed  in  tears,  praying  on  bended  knees,  when  he  heard  the  priest 
recite  the  prayers  for  the  departing  soul,  he   was  much  impressed  ; 
himself  fell  on  his  knees,  remaining  motionless  in  the  most  respecf ul 
attitude.     The  Sister  Superior  having  requested  him  to  say  if  Sister 
Allen  had  expired,  he  raise  d  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  said  :     '  Yes,  she 
has  expired.  '     The  priest,  Reverend  Father  Hubert,  then  recited  the 
prayer,    'Come  to  her  assistance  all  ye  Saints  of  God.'      The  doctor 
again  knelt  down  to  the  end,  seeming  to  be  much  affected  with  a  sight 
which  was  so  new  to  him.      lie  published  in  the  papers  a  relation  of 
the  death  of  Sister  Allen.*     He  added  that  he  would  never  more  in  this 
world  see  the  Sisters  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  of  St.  Joseph,  but  hoped  to  be 
reunited  to  them  in  Heaven.     He  left  Montreal  without  informing  any 
one  of  his  project.     The  Sisters  of  Hotel  Dieu,  although  they  inquired 
much  about  him,  have  never  been  able  to  learn  whither  he  went,  and 
conjectured  that  he  had  gone  to  Europe  intending  to  join  the  Church 
and  enter  some  religious  community.  "     (Annals  of  the  Hotel  Dieu). 

"la  Mr.  J.  H.  Derwin's  lleminucences  of  Montreal,  he  mentions 
that  on  December  10th,  1819,  he  heard  that  a  Sister  called  Sister  Allen, 
had  died  at  the  Hotel-Dieu  on  St.  Paul  Street,  and  that  she  was  a 
dauirhter  of  the  famous  Ethan  Allen.     He  immediately  hurried  to  the 


*  DwoUinff  ui.on  the  consolations  which  tlie  Catholic  Church  affords  to  the  faitliful 
children  at  th(ir  l)n.•!sa^■e  from  time  to  etornitv,  eighteen  months  after  he  sold  his  riropcrly. 
and  wrote  to  the  Sister  iMiiierior  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  stating  that  he  would  never  forget  the 
pi'^ht  he  had  wiinessed  at  the  death  of  Sister  Allen.     He  added  that  he    . .  etc.,  etc. 


FANNY   ALLE^.  23 

chapi'l,    and  was  very  much  impressed  with  the  solemn  scene.     The 

holy  and  hcautiful  dead  (for  he  says  that  even  in  death  she  was  tlie 

most  beautiful  he  ever  saw)  lay  shrouded  on  the  bier,  surrounded  by 

Sisters  prayinii^  for  the  repose  of  her  soul.  He  wondered  to  himself 
how  Ethan  Allen's  daughter  ever  became  a  Nun,  and  strange  she  chose 
for  hei*  peaceful  home,  the  very  city  where  her  father  met  his  wTjrst 

misfortune  :  he  adds  he  never  learned  how  it  all  happened,  but  felt 

deeply  interested.     (The  Catholic,  July  1,  1882V 

The  remains  of  Sister  Allen  together  with  those  of  all  the  Nuns 
buried  in  the  former  Convent  on  St.  Paul  Street  have  been  removed  to 
a  vault  in  the  basement  of  the  new  Convent  near  the  Mountain.  The 
names  of  all  those  interred  there  have  been  preserved,  but  there  is 
nothing  to  show  the  particular  spot  occupied  b}'  those  of  Sister  Allen. 

The  humble  Sisters  in  their  Convents  strive  both  in  life  and  in 
death  to  practice  the  precept  of  the  great  Apostle  St.  Paul,  '  to  mind 
the  things  that  are  above,  not  the  things  that  are  on  earth.  '  Whilst 
yet  living  they  are  dead  and  their  life  is  hidden  with  Christ  in  God, 
but  when  Christ  shall  appear,  which  is  their  life,  there  shall  they  also 
appear  with  Him  in  glory.     (Colos.  iii.  2  et  sccq). 

Our  Sister  Allen  had  chosen  the  good  part  which  was  never  taken 
away  from  her.  "Blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  their 
w^orks  follow  them.  " 

But  how  was  Fanny  Allen,  how  were  so  many  others  induced  to 
renounce  all  things  and  to  lead  a  life  of  poverty,  of  humility,  of  abne- 
gation ? 

"Is  this  a  dream,  the  page  of  a  romance  ?  Is  it  only  history  ? 
the  history  of  a  past  forever  ended  ?  No  ;  once  more  it  is  what  we 
behold,  and  what  happens  amongst  us  everyday.  Who,  then,  is  this 
invisible  lover,  dead  upon  a  cross,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  who 
thus  attracts  to  Him  youth,  beauty  and  love  ?  who  appears  to  them 
clothed  with  a  glory  and  a  charm  which  they  cannot  withstand,  who 
seizes  on  the  living  flesh  of  our  flesh  and  drains  the  purest  blood  of- 
our  blood  ?  Is  it  a  man  ?  No  ;  it  is  God.  There  lies  the  secret  ; 
there  the  key  of  this  sublime  and  sad  myster}'.  God  alone  could  win 
such  victories  and  deserve  such  sacrifices.  Jesus,  whose  God-head  is 
among  us  daily  insulted  or  denied,  proves  it  dail3^  by  those  miracles 
of  self-denial,  and  self  devotion  which  are  called  vocations.  Young 
and  innocent  hearts  give  themselves  to  Him,  to  reward  Him  for  the 
gift  He  has  given  us  of  Himself,  and  this  sacrifice  by  which  we  are 
crucified  is  but  the  answer  of  human  love  to  the  love  of  that  God  who 
was  crucified  for  us.  "    (Montalembert), 


24 


CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


Rev,  DANIEL  BARBEI[, 


His  LETTEf[S  ^nd  Exti^acts  Y\m  His  Woi^^ks. 


PREFACE   TO    THE   BIOGRAPHY   OF   REY.    DANIEL   BARBER. 


The  name  of  Rev.  Daniel  has  often  been  mentioned  in  connection 
^yith  that  of  his  son,  Virgil  Barber,  S.  J.,  and  of  his  grand  son,  Samuel 
Barber,  also  a  priest  of  the  Jesuit  order.  Heretofore  very  little  has 
been  known  about  the  venerable  Daniel  Barber.  It  has  been  our  good 
fortune  to  find  two  pamphlets,  now  extremely  rare,  both  written  by  our 
Patriarch.  The  first  of  those  pamphlets  was  printed  at  Washington  in 
1821.  its  title  being  Catholic  Worships  and  Pieti/  Explained,  and  Recom- 
mended in  Sundry  Letters  to  a  Very  Near  Friend  and  Others,  he  having 
gone  South  to  Maryland  from  Claremont  to  obtain  more  instructions 
about  the  Catholic  Church.  About  the  year  1822,  when  his  son  Virgil, 
being  now^  a  priest,  was  sent  to  Claremont,  Daniel  Barber  came  back 
thither,  then  returned  to  the  South  after  the  death  of  his  wife  and  the 
removal  of  his  son  Virgil  to  the  State  of  Maine  as  missionary  to  the 
Indians.  Ilis  second  pamphlet.  History  of  My  Oicn  Times,  was  printed 
also  at  Washington  (1827)  ;  and  in  consulting  these  two  books  together, 
we  have  the  history  of  Rev.  Daniel  Barber,  and  also  some  remarkable 
letters  and  addresses  of  his. 

In  the  book  of  memoranda  of  Right  Rev.  B.  Fenvick,  Bishop  of 
Boston,  we  found  a  few  passages  which  also  throw  more  light  upon 
the  life  of  Rev.  Daniel  Barber. 

It  is  now  seen  that  our  work  is  a  mere  compilation,  but  we  sin- 
cerely hope  that  it  will  prove  to  be  one  most  interesting.  God  grant 
that  it  may  procure  the  glory  of  God  and  sanctification  of  men  ' 


REV.    DANIEL    BARBER.  25 


REVEREND  DANIEL  BARBEe, 


<. 


I: 


[Extracts  from  his  Works.] 


DANIEL,    AT     THE   AGE   OF   SIXTY-TWO    YEAKS,    AT   THE  EXPENSE    OF 
WORLDLY     EXPECTATIONS     BECAME     A     CATHOLIC." 

("HISTORY    OF    MY    OWN    TIMES.") 


"  The  writer  of  this  small  compendium  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Simsbury,  Connecticut,  on  the  second  day  of  October,  1756,  the  year 
after  the  great  earthquake,  which  shook  all  New  England."  (History 
of  My  Own  Times,  p.  3.)  '  'My  father,  whose  name  was  Daniel,  was  a 
man  who  in  those  days  had  a  greater  taste  for  reading  than  his  neigh- 
bors in  general.  Though  he  possessed  no  means  of  information  re- 
specting the  Catholic  religion,  yet  I  often  heard  him  say  of  Henry  the 
Eighth  and  his  reformation,  that  it  was  all  a  horse  jockeying  scheme. 
In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  withdrew  from  the  Congregational 
order  and  joined  Sergeant  Deicey's  meeting,  for  which  he  was  made  to 
feel  the  severity  of  the  law  in  Connecticut  *  (p.  6).  My  father  and 
mother,  while  both  of  the  standing  order,  could  never  agree  as  to 
points  of  their  faith.  In  their  conversations  on  this  subject  both  had 
recourse  to  the  Bible  as  the  main  or  ultimate  judge  between  them. 
Each  by  habit  had  become  well  skilled  in  managing  their  own  side  of 
the  question.  Each  had  always  at  command  a  multitude  of  Scripture 
passages,  which,  to  use  a  military  phrase,  they  exchanged  shot  for 
shot.  They  both  believed  that  the  Bible  contaiccd  infallible  truth, 
but  in  what  particular  text  or  passage  it  was  to  be  found  they  never 
could  agree  (Ibidem.)  My  father,  by  means  of  the  American  revolu- 
tion and  the  depreciation  of  paper  money,  lost  nearl}^  all  his  property. 
Jle  died  on  the  17th  day  of  April,  1779,  aged  46  years." 

Speaking  of  his  earl}^  recollections,  our  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  says  : 
"I  well  remember  my  mother's  habit  of  signing  each  loaf  of  bread 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross  before  it  was  put  into  the  oven  for  baking, 
and  the  same  was  the  practice  of  many  others.  My  mother  could  give 
no  other  reason   for  this,  than  because  the  same  was  done  by  her 

*  He  was  made  to  pay  twenty  shillings  and  the  cost  ot  the  prosecution  for  goirg  to 
Sergeant  Dewey's  meeting  on  the  Sabbath  day  (p.  10). 


26  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

mother,  and  although  tliis  sign  had  its  proper  meaning,  as  well  as  its 
original,  of  both  she  was  ignorant,  and  although  the  sign  had  lost  its 
meaning,  still  the  habit  of  using  it  had  become  so  confirmed  as  seem- 
ingly to  claim  its  right  b}'  possession.  This  fact  of  itself  makes  it  clear 
to  me  that  my  ancestors  on  my  mother's  side  were  at  some  former  re- 
mote period  members  of  the  Catholic  faith.  My  mother  died  in  the 
eighty-fourth  year  of  her  life,  and  lieth  buried  in  Windsor  village,  Vt.* 
At  her  death  she  left  nine  s:urviviDg  children,  viz. :  six  sons  and  three 
daughters.!  Daniel,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  at  the  expense  of  all 
icorldly  expectations  became  a  Catholic.  The  youngest  sister,  Nabby, 
who  married  Mr.  Koah  Tyler,  with  her  husband  and  seven  children, 
became  converts  to  the  Catholic  faith.  All  her  daughters,  four  in  num- 
ber, are  at  Emraetsburgh  (1827),  where  they  have  taken  the  vows  and 
put  on  the  habit  of  the  sisters  and  profess  to  enjoy  much  happiness  in 
their  letirement  from  the  world."     (P.  13  and  14.) 

Our  writer  served  two  short  terms  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. About  the  year  1787  Mr.  Daniel  Barber  moved  to  Vermont, 
with  his  wife,  Chloe  Case,  daughter  of  Judge  Owen,  of  Simsbury, 
Connecticut,  his  three  sons  and  one  daughter.  "  The  youngest,  a  son, 
died  at  the  age  of  three  years,  five  months  and  eight  days.  His  mortal 
part  we  committed  to  its  kindred  dust  in  the  burying  ground  in  the 
village  of  Manchester,  Vermont."    (History  of  My  Own  Times.) 

The  following  extracts  from  Daniel  Barber's  Catholic  Worship  and 
Piety,  will  continue  to  inform  us  about  the  history  of  his  life  and  the 
motives  of  his  conversion. 

*'  Since  many  persons  have  signified  wishes  to  be  informed  of  the 
way  and  means,  or  more  properly,  the  motives  and  reasons  for  my 
changes  in  religion.  I  thought  it  might  be  acceptable,  at  least  to  some, 
to  give  here  a  distinct  narrative  : 

'•  Having  been  born  and  educated  a  Congregational  Dissenter,  of 
the  strict  Puritanic  order,  which  was  at  that  time  the  prevailing  reli- 
gion in  Connecticut,  my  native  State,  I  continued  in  that  faith  and 
worship  till  I  was  about  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  The  first  occur- 
rence which  gave  me  occasion  to  examine  the  grounds  of  authority  in 
the  Priesthood,  was  a  challenge  given  by  D.  P.,  an  Episcopalian,  alleg- 
ing that  my  minister  (for  at  that  lime  I  was  a  Congregationalist)  was 
destitute  of  that  true  sacerdotal  authority,  without  which  no  man 
could  be  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  As  I  had  been  taught,  so  I  believed 
that  one  and  another,  both  learned  and  unlearned,  as  the  case  might 
happen,  were  directly  and  spiritually  called  to  the  work,  and  that  call 


*  Her  name  is  plainly  legible  there  now  (1885)  on  a  tombstone, 
t  Three  only  are  mentioned,  viz  :    Daniel,  Jared  and  Israel. 


REV.    DANIEL    BARBER.  27 

Was  of  itself  a  kind  of  investiture  of  the  sacerdotal  character  and  office  ; 
and  that  the  mere  form  or  ceremony  of  laying  on  of  hands,  as  among 
Dissenters,  was  a  sort  of  token  of  acknowledging  such  and  such  a  one 
to  be  what  the  ordaineis  were  ;  that  is,  ministers.  D.  P.,  my  neighbor, 
put  into  my  hands  a  small  volume,  containing  the  most  conclusive 
reasoning  in  support  of  the  Apostolic  order,  and  the  succession  of  the 
real  Priesthood.  By  reading  v»'hich  I  was  soon  confounded  for  want  of 
reason  and  authority  for  the  support  of  my  fanciful  scheme  of  minis- 
terial power  given  immediately,  and  invisibly  to  one  and  another. 
However,  having  been  so  long  wedded  to  this  belief,  I  did  not  feel  in 
the  least  disposed  to  give  up  the  point.  And  in  order  to  furnish  my- 
self with  proper  weapons  to  repel  the  attack,  I  soon  carried  the  said 
book  to  my  minister,  with  a  request  that  he  would  read  it,  and  then 
give  me  such  arguments  as  the  nature  of  the  case  required.  After 
keeping  it  a  while,  he  told  me  that  I  had  better  take  it  again,  saying, 
"  there  had  already  been  enough  said  and  written  on  that  subject  ;" 
and  signitied  his  unwillingness  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Sorelv 
vexed  and  disappointed  as  I  was  at  the  bare  apprehension  of  a  failure 
in  a  cause  so  interesting  to  my  feelings,  and  so  certain  and  clear  as  to 
its  substance,  I  applied  to  another  minister  of  the  same  class,  and  made 
my  complaint  concerning  the  neglect  of  the  former.  There  I  re- 
ceived an  answer  well  calculated  to  liU  up  the  full  measure  of  my 

shame  ;  it  was  that  "Rev.  Mr.  ,  by  rejecting  my  request,  had 

done  the  best  thing  he  could  ;  for,  (continued  he)  had  he  undertaken 
to  interfere  with  those  arguments,  he  would  very  soon  have  brought 
an  old  house  about  his  ears.  "  I  began  now  to  reflect  whether  true 
military  characters  engnged  for  their  king  and  country  would  so  tamely 
suffer  their  commissions  to  be  trifled  with.  While  those  things  were 
in  my  mind,  there  happened  to  be  a  military  day  for  parading  and 
exercising  the  militia,  and  many  people  collected  together.  When  I 
came  among  them,  I  found  this  same  D.  P.  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of 
people,  who  were  attentive  to  his  reasoning  down  the  foundation  of 
Congregational  ordination  and  defending  the  doctrine  of  Apostolic 
succession.  The  champion  of  the  dissenting  party,  with  whom  he  was 
engaged,  seemed  to  me  very  apparently  to  sink  under  the  weight  of 
the  argument,  as  I  perceived  by  his  going  to  call  one  of  the  ministers, 
who  was  not  far  distant,  to  assist  him.  This  minister,  however,  as  it 
was  then  understood,  refused,  or  was  too  prudent  to  enter  the  list  in 
the  presence  of  so  many  people.  The  event  was,  my  neighbor  P.  put 
his  antagonist  to  silence.  In  consequence  of  this  dispute,  more  or  less 
immediately  declared  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  one  of  whom  I  became 
acquainted  with. 


28  CATHOLIC    MEMOIttS. 

The  most  I  remember  now  of  the  argument  on  the  part  of  the 
Dissenter,  was,  that  the  Church  of  England  could  not  be  possessed  of 
any  true  ecclesiastical  authorit3%  owing  to  the  corrupt  state  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  separation.  By  this  time,  it  may 
be  rcasonabl}'  concluded,  I  must  feel  compelled  to  quit  a  society,  whose 
ecclesiastical  authority  or  Priesthood  was  of  such  a  nature  as  I  could 
not  defend,  nor  find  any  willing  to  do  it  for  me.  Yet,  to  part,  to  make 
a  final  separation  from  that,  and  embrace  a  different  one,  was  a  thing  to 
which  I  could  not  at  once  bring  my  mind  fully  to  yield.  To  effect 
this,  caused  a  year's  reflection.  I  was  breaking  off  from  a  friendly 
connection  with  such  as  were  my  nearest  relations  and  best  friends. 
To  separate  from  them  and  form  a  religious  connection  with  strangers, 
was  such  a  trial  as  excited  and  awakened  many  tender  feelings,  which 
1  have  not  forgotten  to  this  day.  At  length  I  became  resolute,  and 
bid  a  formal  adieu  to  one  kind  of  religion  and  joined  myself  to 
another. 

But  how  little  did  I  then  think  that  those  very  arguments  which 
had  brought  me  to  the  Church  of  England,  when  pursued  up  to  their 
full  extent,  could  not  fail  to  convince  me  that  by  joining  the  Church 
of  England  I  had  gone  not  more  than  half  way  towards  the  proper 
place  of  safety. 

In  becoming  an  Episcopalian,  I  will  remember  one  popular  diffi- 
culty I  had  to  encounter.  It  was  a  religion  which,  from  its  very  first 
introduction  into  New  England,  had  ever  felt  the  heavy  hand  of  its 
enemies.  To  be  a  churchman  there  was  at  least  a  sort  of  disfranchise- 
ment in  the  public  esteem.  Church-man  and  heretic  was  formerly  sup- 
posed to  signify  nearly  the  same  thing,  and  it  was  not  uncommon, 
when  a  Dissenter  joined  himself  to  that  church,  to  ask  "  What  develish 
trick  has  he  done?  " 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  spirit  of  the  times,  since  ray  remem- 
brance, one  anecdote  will  suffice.  A  Church  of  England  minister  died 
in  Connecticut,  whose  name  was  Muirson.  Afterwards  died  one  of  hi5 
communicants,  whose  name  was  Isaac  Knell.  After  which  came  out 
a  pamphlet,  filled  with  reproaches  against  the  Church  of  England,  in 
which  I  remember  these  two  lines:  — 

"  Isaac  Knell  is  gone  to  hell 

"  To  tell  Mr.  Muirson  his  Church  is  well." 

I  mention  these  things  with  no  other  view  than  to  convince  people 
of  the  necessity  of  that  candor  which  leads  to  an  examination  of  prin- 
ciples, instead  of  taking  it  for  granted  that  whatever  is  reported  is  true. 
The  tree  which  is  the  most  beaten  often  is  found  to  yield  the  best  fruit. 

At  the  age  of  thirty  I  was  ordained  a  Protestant  deacon  by  Bishop 
Seaburv  in  Christ  Church,  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  afterwards 


REV.     DANIEL    BAllBER.  29 

priest  by  Bishop  Provost  in  the  church  at  Schenectady,  State  of  New 
York.  I  continued  for  nearly  thirty  j'cars  clear  of  the  least  doubt  or 
suspicion  concerning  the  correctness  and  validity  of  our  ordinations. 
But  at  a  certain  time,  and  while  on  a  journey,  a  Catliolic  author 
was  put  into  my  hands,  and  as  chance  would  seem  to  have  it,  the  first 
page  I  opened  called  my  attention  to  a  subject  which  seemed  to  bear  a 
near  relation  to  the  challenge  given  me  so  long  before  by  my  friend  D. 
P.,  and  reminded  me  of  the  common  saying  :  "  Bad  news  is  apt  to  be 
true."  The  passage  I  mention  contain  some  reflections  on  the  conse- 
cration of  Arch  bishop  Parker.  It  is  set  forth  that  after  the  Queen  had 
in  vain  applied  to  several  Catholic  bishops  to  consecrate  Parker,  she, 
by  virtue  of  her  own  authority,  empowered  a  certain  character, 
namely,  Barlow,  witli  certain  others,  to  perform  the  consecration.  An 
order  made  afterwards  by  the  Queen  was  as  follows:  "Supplying, 
nevertheless,  by  our  supreme  royoX  authority,  from  our  mere  motion 
and  certain  knowledge,  if  any  thing,  either  among  those  things  that 
were  done  by  3'ou  according  to  our  aforesaid  mandate,  or  in  you,  or  in 
any  one  of  you,  your  condition,  state,  or  power,  be,  or  shall  be  want- 
ing, of  the  foresaid  things,  to  be  done,  which,  by  the  statutes  of  this 
kingdom,  or  b}^  the  ecclesiastical  laws  are  required,  or  are  necessary, 
the  state  of  the  times  and  the  necessity  of  affairs  demanding  it."  Un- 
fortunate as  it  may  seem  for  the  Church  of  England,  whose  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority  depends  wholly  on  the  validit}^  of  Parker's  consecration, 
it  could  never  be  made  to  appear  that  Barlow"  himself  was  ever  conse- 
crated by  anybody.  The  truth  is,  according  to  the  histor}^  of  those 
times,  and  even  ths  first  bishops  of  the  reformation  themselves  have 
left  on  record,  no  authority  excepting  what  flowed  from  the  Crown 
was  considered  of  much  importance  in  the  church.  Fretted  and  per- 
plexed at  finding  this  unlucky  passage  in  the  'Catholic  author  ;  and 
still  entertaining  hopes  that  some  more  skilled  in  church  history,  who 
might  put  my  appreljensions  asleep  again,  I  soon  wrote  to  a  very 
learned  clergyman,  but  received  no  answer.  I  have  since  concluded 
that  he  possessed  an  equal  share  of  wisdom  and  prudence  with  the 
CoDgregationalist  ministers  before  mentioned.  About  this  time  I 
called  on  a  Catholic  priest,  for  the  first  time,  for  I  had  never  seen  one 
before.  I  asked  him  many  questions  relative  to  his  religion,  and  the 
many  reports  I  had  heard  concerning  the  faith  and  worship  of  that 
Church.  lie  treated  me  v.'ith  much  kindness  and  respect.  On  enter- 
ing his  church  for  the  first  time,  which  was  the  first  I  had  seen  ;  ob- 
serving others  bless  themselves  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  and  reflecting 
that,  as  Episcopalians,  we  claimed  ourselves  to  be  a  real  branch  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  I  also  did  not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  the  same  token 
pf  faith.  A  stranger  observing  me,  made  some  reflections.    I  answered 


30  CATHOLIC    MEM0IR8. 

him  that  I  belonged  to  the  old  Church,  the  Church  of  England.  lie 
said  the  Church  of  England  was  not  a  very  old  Church.  1  confess  this 
seemed  something  like  another  challenge.  I  carefully  avoided  any 
further  altercation,  for  fear  the  ground  on  which  I  stood  might  prove 
hollow.  But  to  return.  The  priest  answered  all  my  questions  in  a 
very  pleasant  and  sensible  manner,  and  I  began  to  th  uk  whether  he 
might  not  suppose  me  much  more  ignorant  than  I  had  before  thought 
myself  to  be. 

To  disclose  our  ignorance  voluntarily  is  often  attended  with  equal 
mortification  as  the  showing  our  sinful  leprosy  to  a  Priest.  The  latter 
we  show  onl}'  with  a  view  that  we  may  receive  a  cure,  the  former  is  too 
often  deeply  rooted  by  habit  to  be  eradicated. 

The  priest,  on  my  taking  leave,  lent  me  several  books  explanatory 
of  the  Catholic  religion.  In  these  my  familj  soon  found  their  accounts, 
as  well  as  some  others.  The  first  thing  which  struck  my  mind  forcibly, 
was,  the  Apostolic  injunction,  respecting  anointing  the  sick  \\ith  oil  ; 
and  I  began  to  ask  my  brother  ministers  why  that  practice  was  omitted? 
If  it  was  needful  in  primitive  times,  why  not  so  still  V  One  of  them, 
a  very  learned,  sensible  man,  supposed  that  the  oil,  used  in  anointing 
the  sick  by  Priests  in  those  days,  was  such  as  had  been  consecrated 
for  anointing  kings  and  prophets  ;  that  so  much  as  was  left,  was 
afterwards  appliei  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  sick  and  dying.  I 
observed,  that  if  I  understood  him,  the  oil  he  referred  to  was  strictly 
forbidden  to  be  used  in  any  such  case,  and  was  to  be  a  curse  to  any 
man  on  whose  flesh  it  might  come.  He  seemed  to  ponder  but  said  no 
more  I  once,  and  again,  proposed  the  same  question,  to  a  more  digni- 
fied character.  His  reply  was  :  "It  is  true  that  it  was  a  practice  in 
the  days  of  miracles.  "  Whether  just  such  answer  had  any  meaning 
I  could  not  tell.  I  began  now  to  think  that  some  others  might  possi- 
bly appear  before  the  priest  I  visited  to  not  much  better  advantage 
than  myself. 

I  well  know,  that  of  late,  some  have  sought  a  subterfuge  under 
Courayer,  a  desperate  Roman  Catholic  priest.  Honest  minds,  how- 
ever, will  defer  any  conclusion  from  his  reasonings,  until  they  shall 
have  examined  these  writers  on  the  other  side  of  the  question,  viz  : 
D.  Gervaise,  Hardwin  Le  Quien,  etc.,  not  forgetting  that  although 
Courayer  labors  to  establish  the  consecration  of  Parker,  he  seems  not 
to  hesitate  in  saying  that  the  Church  of  England,  by  her  separation, 
has  cut  herself  off  from  the  communion  of  the  true  church,  and  seems 
to  advise  that  she  again  return  to  her  mother.  His  conclusion  on  the 
subject  very  clearly  leaves  it  at  least  no  better  than  he  found  it. 

As  to  the  validity  of  Parker's  consecration,  Ileylin,  a  candid  Pro- 
testant author,   states,   a  cause,   brought  by   the  Protestant  Bishop, 


REV.    DANIEL    BARBER.  31 

llorce,  against  Bonner,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  London,  for  refusing 
to  take  the  oath  of  the  Queen's  supremacy.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  trial,  Bonner  entered  a  plea,  as  a  bar  to  the  prosecution,  stating 
that  Home  the  prosecutor  was  no  Bishop.  The  court  agreed  that  the 
fact,  whether  he  was  a  Bishop  or  not,  should  be  determined  by  a  jury 
of  the  country.  What  was  the  issue  ?  Why  rather  than  that  a  jury 
of  twelve  honest  men  should  determine  the  question,  the  cause  wa.s 
taken  from  court  without  a  trial,  and  carried  up  to  Parliament ;  there 
it  was  suiTercd  to  sleep  the  sleep  of  death.  And  Bishop  Bonner  was 
sulTered  to  rest  quietly  without  any  further  trouble.  Although  the 
Queen  was  far  from  entertaining  a  favorable  opinion  of  Bishop  Bon- 
ner, yet  it  would  seem  that  her  principal  judges  possessed  some  share 
of  the  prudence  I  mentioned  of  the  ministers,  f  jr,  no  doubt,  had  they 
declared  Home  to  be  a  true  Bishop,  there  might  have  been  some  dan- 
ger of  bringing  an  old  house  about  their  ears  ;  since,  at  that  period, 
none  could  well  be  in  douljt  what  was  the  fact,  nor  of  the  reason  w^hy 
the  Queen  first  applied  to  the  Catholic  Bishop  to  perform  Parker's 
consecration." 

In  1807  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  had  baptized  Fanny,  daughter  of 
Ethan  Allen,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  biography  of  that  remarkable 
convert  It  has  been  repeatedly  stated  that  he  was  also  present  at  her 
I  rofession  at  the  Hotel-Dieu,  that  he  visited  her,  that  he  w^as  much 
impressed  with  her  heroic  determination,  so  that  his  conversion  to  tlie 
Catholic  faith  was  due  in  great  measure  to  her  influence.  His  visit  to 
Bishop  de  Chevcrus  must  have  taken  place  about  the  year  1813.  He 
again  relates  as  follows  about  that  visit  to  the  Bishop: 

"He  treated  me  with  great  candor.  I  had  never  seen  a  priest  be- 
fore. He  gave  me  an  understanding  of  the  principal  things  which 
made  the  separation  between  us  and  the  Catholic  church.  He  also 
furnished  me  with  several  books  to  carry  home.  These  proved  quite 
a  treat  in  my  family.  They,  by  reading,  soon  appeared  well  convinced 
of  the  truths  they  contained,  and  wished  to  see  a  priest,  but  the  nearest 
was  a  hundred  miles  distant.  These  few  books  scattered  fast  amongst 
m}^  Protestant  neighbours,  and  those  more  particularly  who  had  a  taste 
for  inquiry.  In  lime  some  of  the  heads  of  the  parish  began  to  make 
complaint  that  those  books  I  had  lent  among  my  parishioners  were 
calculated  to  do  much  harm.  I  said,  how  can  they  do  harm?  Are 
we  not  a  branch  of  the  same  church?  If  not,  what  is  our  foundation 
and  on  wJnit  do  we  stand?  Arguments  are  of  little  use  to  minds  sealed 
against  inquirj-.  One  of  my  Protestant  brethren  on  the  like  occasion 
used  an  argument  which  I  have  thought  the  most  conclusive  the  case 
would  admit  of,  he  saying:     "  We  are  Protestants  and  you  can't  help 


32  CATHOLIC    ME  MO  IBS. 

it."  After  considerable  conversation,  I  agreed  to  gather  iny  books  and 
make  them  secure.  I  put  them  under  lock  and  key.  But  I  soon 
found  that,  by  the  help  of  some  of  my  children,  they  again  found  their 
wa}',  more  privately,  abroad." 

"About  this  same  period,  my  youngest  son  (Virgil),  then  a  Pro- 
testant parson  in  Fairfield,  State  of  New  York  (near  Utica),  with  his 
wife  paid  me  a  visit.  While  the}^  were  at  my  house,  1  took  an  oppor- 
tunity now  and  then  to  read  to  them  out  of  those  books." 

During  this  visit  the  Reverend  Daniel  Barber,  feeling  an  interest  for 
the  soul  of  his  son,  Rev.  Virgil  B.,  whose  mind  was  open  to  conviction, 
came  upon  him  on  a  certain  occasion  whilst  at  his  toilet  (shaving),  and 
read  to  him  a  telling  argument  found  in  Milner's  End  of  Controverxy 
(Father  Fitton). 

"But  the  name  Catholic  sounded  as  harsh  to  them  as  it  had 
done  to  old  Mr.  L.  Sometimes  I  could  prevail  on  them  to  listen  to  an 
argument  or  an  explanation  of  some  particular  point  of  doctrine. 
Hearing  me  read,  they  would  sometimes  i'Q\)\y,  saying,  that  is  good 
reasoning.  When  they  were  about  to  leave  us,  they  requested  the  loan 
of  one  of  the  books.  Glad,  indeed,  was  I  of  the  opportunity  of  grant- 
ing such  a  request.  They  took  the  book  with  them  and  departed.  But 
how  little  did  I  think  that  before  I  should  see  them  again,  himself  and 
family  would  become  converts  and  his  wife  a  nun!  " 

"  1  saw  neither  of  them  again  till  my  son*  returned  from  Rome  in 
1818.  He  then  came  to  Claremont,  in  company  with  the  Reverend  Dr. 
French  (or  FFrench,  a  Dominican  father,  an  English  convert,  living 
in  New  York).  This  was  the  first  priest  that  ever  came  to  my  house. 
He  arrived  on  Saturday  evening.  On  Sunday  morning  he  said  Mass  in 
my  house.  I  attended,  and  afterwards  went  and  performed  tlie  usual 
services  in  my  own  Church.  I  would  have  asked  him  to  preach  in  the 
Church,  but  for  fear  it  might  give  offense  to  some.  In  the  evening, 
however,  Dr.  FFrench  preached  in  my  hou.se  to  a  respectable  num- 
ber. He  staid  through  the  week,  and  the  next  Sunday  said  Mass  and 
preached  both  parts  of  the  day,  at  what  is  now  called  the  new  brick 
church.  In  the  course  of  this  short  period  he  had  seven  converts, 
amongst  whom  were  my  wife  and  daughter,  my  sister,  Mrs.  Tyler  and 
her  eldest  daughter.  Rosette  Tyler. 

This  priest  coming  from  far,  and  putting  up  at  my  house,  seemed, 
to  give  quite  as  much  alarm  as  the  Catholic  books  had  done. 

My  wife,  who  was  one  the  first  in  making  an  open  profession  of 
the  Catholic  faith,  was  a  woman  who  possessed  a  strength  of  mind 
and  resolution  which  qualified  her  for  so  important  an  investigation, 


*  Yirgil  was  attWs  tiine  makings  his  novociate  with  the  Jesuits  at  Georgetown,  D.  C, 


REV.    DANIEL    BARBER.  33 

and  by  which  she  set  at  naught,  the  fear  of  man  and  the  voice  of  the 
multitude.  She  improved  tlie  first  opportunity  of  separating  herself, 
and  embracing  the  standard  of  the  cross,  from  which  she  never  separ- 
ated till  death.  She  departed  this  life  on  the  eighth  day  of  February, 
1825,  in  the  79th  year  of  her  age.  Her  last  words,  and  while  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  were,  "In  the  name  of  the  P'atber  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  "  She  was  the  first  who  lie 
buried  in  the  Catholic  grave  yard  near  the  St.  Mary's  church  in  Clare- 
mont.     May  she  rest  in  peace.     Amen.  " 

Rev.  D.  Barber  was  not  baptized  with  his  wife,  but  he  then  gave 
up  preaching  for  the  Episcopalians  as  we  must  infer  from  the  follow- 
ing passage  : 

THE  AUTHOR'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  HIS  EPISCOPAL 

PARISH. 

"  On  the  15th  of  November  (if  I  am  right)  A.  D.  1818,  having 
taken  a  regular  dismission  from  my  parish,  I  took  my  final  leave,  pub- 
licly by  an  address  from  the  pulpit,  it  being  Sunda}^  and  we  parted, 
generally  speaking,  as  friends,  and  in  the  spirit  of  peace  and  harmony, 
in  which  w^e  had  so  many  years  lived  and  walked,  w^ept  and  rejoiced 
together.  It  was  at  least  on  my  part,  a  trial  in  which  I  felt,  and  could 
not  but  feel,  the  finer  and  most  tender  emotions,  and  to  which  the 
falling  tear  bore  full  testimony.  And  indeed  what  less  could  be  ex- 
pected, while  bidding  adieu  to  a  people  whose  best  tokens  of  kindness 
and  respect,  had  for  the  space  of  twenty-four  years  afforded  me  so 
much  comfort  and  consolation  ?  The  bare  reflection  must  ever  endear 
them  to  my  remembrance. 

THE  FOLLOWING  IS  THE  ADDRESS. 

"  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  ''—Apostles''  Creed. 
"  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  Baptism.  " — St.  Paul. 

]\Iy  friends  and  brethren,  how  natural  is  the  reflection  that  all 
temporal  things  are  mutable  and  transient,  and  the  most  pleasing 
friendships  and  connections  in  life  are  of  but  short  duration,  and  there 
are  particular  times  and  seasons  when  the  heart  feels  most  sensibly 
the  disappointments  of  all  its  hopes  and  wishes.  When  we  meet  to 
bid  adieu  to  the  friends  we  loved  and  whose  families  we  admired,  and 
whose  faces  we  shall  see  no  more,  then^  if  ever,  is  the  time  when  the 
plaintive  voice,  and  the  bursting  tear,  speak  the  language  of  the  heart, 
and  express  the  genuine  and  tender  feelings  of  the  soul. 

Such  are  the  sentiments  and  affections  of  him  who  meets  you 
at  this  time,  only  to  part  again,  and  to  bid  you  his  last  adieu. 


34  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

On  so  interesting  an  occasion,  my  mind  naturally  looks  backward 
to  scenes  that  are  past  and  gone,  wishing  to  take  one  more  glimpse  of 
those  pleasing  and  happy  days,  in  which  we  have  walked  together  in 
love  and  friendship,  as  fellow-travellers,  whose  mutual  care  and  inter- 
est it  was  to  shun  fatal  disasters,  and  if  possible  never  to  fall  out  by 

the  way. 

My  mind  looks  back  again  to  melancholy  scenes  through  which 
we  have  passed  along;  those  days  of  calamity  and  distress,  when  like 
friends  we  have  mourned  together,  wept  together,  and  sympathized 
together;  how  often  have  we  comforted  one  another  and  shed  the  tear 
of  condolence,  when  the  hand  of  God  touched  you;  when  the  desire 
of  your  eyes  has  been  taken  away,  or  your  friend  and  acquaintance 
shrouded  in  darkness;  who  was  ever  afHicted  and  I  did  not  weep?  Who 
was  sorrowful,  and  I  was  not  sorrowful?  And  I  weep  still  with  them 
that  weep,  and  would,  if  possible,  wipe  away  the  tears  from  every  son 
and  daughter  of  affliction. 

We  look  back  once  more  upon  the  past;  there  your  hospitable  and 
friendly  mansions  arise  full  in  my  view;  those  social  and  calm  retreats, 
those  scenes  of  contemplation  and  sympathizing  friendship,  these  I 
must  bid  adieu;  here  I  must  take  up  my  cross  where  none  can  carry  it 
for  me.  Let  me  bear  it,  then,  with  faith  and  patience,  and  strive  to 
imitate  Him  who  was  made  perfect  through  sufferings. 

Now  my  labor  of  love  with  you  as  your  minister  is  brought  to  a 
final  close,  Never  again  shall  I  address  you  from  this  place,  calling 
you  to  virtue,  piety  and  Godliness.  How  important,  then,  must  it  be 
to  me,  to  be  fully  satisfied  that  in  all  my  public  and  private  admoni- 
tions and  administrations  I  have  endeavored  to  lead  you  into  all  truth 
profitable  to  salvation.  As  my  stewardship  is  now  ended,  whatever 
remains  to  be  done  must  be  the  work  of  some  other  hands. 

Remember  there  is  a  time  approaching  when  we  must  receive  as 
we  have  done;  and  when  it  will  be  inciuired  of  me  what  has  become  of 
the  sheep  I  left  with  you  in  the  wilderness.  Did  you  carefully  instruct 
them?  Did  you  guide  them  by  your  counsel?  Did  you  lead  them  to 
pastures  of  life  and  health  everlasting?  If  I  can  answer  yea.  Lord,  to 
the  best  of  my  abilities  and  allotments,  happy  will  it  be  for  me;  acd 
happy  will  it  be  for  you,  if  through  faith  and  patience  your  names  shall 
be  enrolled  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life. 

Nearly  twenty-four  years,  and  the  best  of  my  days  have  been  spent 
in  the  service  of  the  Church  to  which  you  belong,  and  from  which  I 
now  retire  to  the  humble  walks  of  private  life  and  to  the  still  and 
silent  shades  of  peace  and  poverty. 

The  former  kindness  of  my  friends  I  shall  carry  with  me  to  the 
grave,  as  the  choicest  tokens  of  their  affection  and  esteem.      If  any 


DANIEL    BARBER.  35 

have  treated  me  ill,  let  the  story  of  my  complaint  be  written  on  the 
sand,  where  the  first  returning-  wave  shall  consign  it  to  oblivion. 

My  gray  hairs  and  infirmities  are  continually  admonishing  me  of 
that  tremendous  hour,  which  will  put  a  period  to  all  my  works. 

And  when  I  shall  slumber  in  the  tomb  and  be  forever  gone,  let  my 
remembrance  have  a  claim  to  that  mantle  of  charity  so  needful  to  cover 
the  faults  and  failings,  for  which  I  have  nothing  to  plead  but  the  weak- 
ness and  imperfections  of  human  nature. 

With  these  sentiments  and  these  feelings— with  these  affections 
and  these  tears— I  bid  you  a  sorrowful  and  a  lasting  farewell. 


The  writings  of  Daniel  Barber  show^  him  to  have  been  at  all  times 

honest  in  his  convictions,  earnestly  desiring  to  know  the  truth  ana 

always  disposed  to  embrace  it  w^hen  found, 

"  From  Manchester  wc  removed  to  Claremont,  where  I  w^as  settled 
as  minister  of  the  Protestant  (Episcopal)  Church,  with  the  provision  of 
a  comfortable  support.  In  this  Church  I  continued  for  the  space  of 
twenty-four  years,  in  perfect  friendship  and  harmony.  I  know  w^ell  it 
is  treading  on  dangerous  grounds,  wiien  in  such  an  age  as  this,  I  shall 
declare  it  as  my  firm  belief  that  the  only  means  by  which  I  was  first 
led  to  inquire  for  the  truth,  was  none  other  but  the  spirit  of  God. 
Truth  in  religion  was  ever  my  aim  and  delight,  but  the  best  means  w^as 
not  within  my  reach,  or  the  compass  of  my  knowledge,  unless  I  had 
found  it  in  the  Church  of  England.  The  real  difference  between  that 
and  the  Catholic  Church  I  did  not  understand.  Wishing  for  informa- 
tion on  that  subject,  led  me  to  introduce  myself  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cheverus,  then  a  priest  in  Boston.  " 

Daniel  Barber  was  the  first  member  of  his  family  to  enquire  into 
the  merits  of  the  Catholic  religion,  but  his  dear  son  Virgil,  and  his 
son's  wife  and  children,  his  own  wife  and  some  other  relatives  in  Ver- 
mont were  admitted  in  the  church  before  him .  He  had  friends  in 
Washington  and  Maryland,  and  after  taking  his  dismission  from  his 
congregation  of  Episcopalians  in  Claremont,  he  started  south,  desirous 
to  obtain  further  instructions  about  the  doctrines  and  rules  of  the  church 
before  making  his  profession  of  faith  in  it.  It  may  be  surmised  that 
a  desire  to  live  near  his  son  Virgil,  and  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the 
church  in  a  Catholic  country,  helped  him  to  determine  to  leave  Clare- 
mont for  a  time.  During  his  absence  from  New  Hampshire  he  was 
received  into  the  Catholic  Church. 


36  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

In  1822,  Virgil  Barber,  after  making  his  religious  profession,  was 
ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Cheverus  and  by  him  sent  to  Claremont 
as  a  mii^sionary  priest,  with  the  consent  of  his  superior.  His  A^enerablc 
father  resolved  now  to  return  to  Claremont  and  about  that  time  he  wrote 
the  foUowins:  letters  to  his  former  friends  in  Kew  Hampshire  : 


CATHOLIC    WORSHIP 

A:^^D 

PIETY, 

EXPLAINND  AND  RECOMMENDED 
IN  SUNDRY  LETTERS, 

TO  A  VERY  NEAR  FRIEND,  AND  OTHERS. 


BY  DANIEL  BARBER,  A.  M., 

And  not  long  since  a  Minister  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
Claremont,  State  of  New  Hampshire. 


"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  Rock  I  v/ill  build  my  Church,  and 
the  gates  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  "    St.  Math.  16-18. 


E.  DE  Crafft,  Printer, 
Nearly  opposite  the  Centre  Market  House,  Washington  City. 

1821. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  a  natural  principle  in  all  men  to  be  disposed  to  religion,  and 
in  case  they  fail  in  that  which  is  true,  they  will  be  disposed  to  embrace 
that  which  is  false.  Among  those  who  claim  the  right  of  choosing  for 
themselves  that  faith  which  their  fancy  or  judgment  may  approve  of, 
there  will  always  be  many  who  are  very  liable  to  change,  especially 
among  such  as  have  recourse  to  the  holy  scriptures  as  the  onlj'  rule  of 
their  choice  ;  and  although  such  changes  are  frequent,  and  generally 
proceed  from  apparently  pious  motives,  is  it  not  natural  for  us  to  in- 
quire in  particular  cases  what  those  motives  were?    Such  inquiries  arc 


DANIEL    BAlWEiL  37 

often  kind  and  friendly,  and  seem  fully  justified  by  an  apostle  who  has 
taught  us  to  give  an  answer  to  "  every  one  who  shall  ask  us  concerning 
our  faith." 

Whenever  I  shall  return  again  to  you,  my  former  brethren,  it  is 
quite  probable  that  many  among  such  as  I  have  baptized,  and  admin, 
istcrcd  to  in  other  holy  things  ;  as  also  those  with  whom  I  have  wept 
and  rejoiced,  will  feel,  at  least,  seme  curiosity  to  inquire  amf)ng  other 
things,  why  I  have  made  a  change  in  my  religion  ?  And  particularly 
why  I  have  become  a  Catholic  ?  So  natural  is  it  to  ask,  when  we  see 
a  man  with  a  cross  upon  his  shoulders,  wdiy  does  he  carry  it  ? 

Anticipating  such  inquiries,  my  answer  shall  be  according  to  that 
simplicity  and  affection  in  which  I  ever  taught  and  instructed  you  in 
former  times,  wdien  it  was  the  wish  of  my  heart  to  lead  you  in  the  ways 
of  piety  to  a  spiritual  composure  of  mind  and  to  that  truth  of  the  soul 
wdiich  is  everlasting.  In  this  way  I  endeavored  to  lead  you  according 
to  the  measure  of  my  knowledge  and  skill. 

Honest  minds  may  think  differently,  yet  truth  and  error  can  never 
be  the  same  ;  and  whether  our  faith  be  right  or  wrong  depends  not  at 
all  on  the  opinion  we  may  form,  or  the  good  liking  we  may  have  for  it. 
The  sun  does  not  cease  to  shine  because  the  blind  man  does  not  see  it ; 
nor  is  the  providence  of  God  checked  because  a  sceptic  may  please  to 
deny  it.  That  religion,  whose  design  is  the  happiness  of  man,  is  from 
heaven.  Its  faith,  its  doctrines,  must,  therefore,  be  holy  and  divine. 
It  must  then  be  perfect,  and  unchangeable  as  He  who  once  gave  the  law 
amidst  the  thunders  and  lightning  of  Mount  Sinai.  What  it  was,  the 
same  it  is,  and  ever  will  be  ;  not  like  man,  liable  to  change  and  decay, 
but  stamped  with  the  hand  of  its  divine  author,  it  alone  will  stand 
amidst  the  desolation  of  empires  and  the  wreck  of  worlds. 

You  again  ask  me  why  I  am  Catholic  ?  I  answer  for  the  same 
reasons  which  make  me  a  Christian  ;  for,  in  former  times,  Catholic  and 
Christian  meant  the  same  thing.  "  My  name  is  Christian,  says  an  an- 
cient Father,  and  Catholic  is  my  sur-name  ;  "  or,  I  will  answer  in  the 
words  of  a  celebrated  author,  M.  De  la  Harpe,  "  I  am  a  Catholic  be- 
cause I  have  examined  ;  do  you  the  same,  and  you  will  be  one  too." 

Your  second  inquiry  will  be,  what  discovery  did  you  make  in  the 
course  of  your  examination  ? 

To  this  question  I  will  answer  as  briefly  as  possible  ;  but  before  I 
do  this,  I  beseech  you,  my  brethren,  to  listen  to  me  with  candour  and 
patience.  Divest  yourselves  of  all  bitterness  and  prejudice.  Endeavor 
to  eradicate  any  unfavorable  impression  which  a  preconceived  opinion 
may  have  made  upon  you,  and  bring  to  this  subject  a  heart  that  pants 
after  the  truth,  and  a  mind  wdiich  will  embrace  it,  whenever,  through 
the  ministry  of  an  angel  or  a  man,  it  shall  be  made  manifest  to  you. 


88  CATHOLIC   MEMOlM 

Without  such  disposition,  controversy  may  but  arouse  your  passions, 
or  gratify  an  idle  curiosity  ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  with  that  happy 
temper  of  mind,  which  they  must  beget,  becomes  the  vehicle  of  in- 
struction, and  the  means  of  obtaining  eternal  life.  Truth,  my  friends, 
may  contradict  our  former  or  present  opinions,  and  thwart  and  perplex 
our  favorite  ones  ;  nay,  it  may  even  compel  us  to  take  up  a  cross  on 
that  ver}'  spot  where  hope  had  promised  us  a  crown.  But  if,  never- 
theless, it  be  but  barely  possible  that  without  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
faith,  and  the  practice  of  the  things  it  commends,  we  may  be  lost,  then, 
is  it  not  wise  to  pause  while  we  are  standing  here  upon  the  brink  of 
eternity,  and  ask  ourselves  the  question,  "  Is  it  not  at  least,  possible 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  established  but  one  Church  ?  "  And  is  it  not  at 
least  equally  possible,  that  salvation  cannot  be  obtained  out  of  it  ? 

Now,  like  jur}Tnen  at  court,  you  sit  down  to  hear  and  judge  a  case, 
and  a  cause,  too,  Avhicli,  in  its  nature  and  consequences,  is  the  most  im- 
portant that  can  be  conceived.  For  it  is  the  cause  of  God  among  men. 
It  is  a  cause  in  which  you  yourself  are  a  party,  and  as  such  the  decision 
you  shall  make  will  produce  the  most  happy  or  the  most  dreadful  con- 
sequences in  eternit3^  And  as  the  question  before  you  is  one  in  which 
you  have  an  everlasting  concern,  God  demands  of  you  a  righteous  judg- 
ment ;  and  since  He  demands  it,  he  will  give  you  the  grace  to  render  it. 

As  the  discoveries  which  I  have  made  in  my  researches  are,  that 
Protestant  writers  have  persuaded  us  to  believe  that  their  religion  is 
more  ancient  than  the  Catholic,  and,  indeed,  that  the  Protestant  was 
the  first,  or  original  Christian  church,  these  likewise  state  that  there  have 
been  two  important  changes  in  religion  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  ; 
that  is,  the  first  from  Protestantism  to  Popery  ;  the  second  from  Popery 
to  Protestantism.  Thus  at  one  time  these  were  the  means  whereby 
men  might  be  saved,  and  at  another  they  had  entirely  disappeared  from 
off  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Now  on  these  two  changes  rests  the  whole  ground  and  support  of 
the  Protestant  cause — that  is,  if  it  can  be  made  to  appear  beyond  a  rea- 
sonable doubt  that  the  church  made  and  constituted  by  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  apostles  was  Protestant,  in  that  case  the  Protestant  stands  on  safe 
ground  as  to  his  religion,  while  the  Catholic  ought  to  fear  and  tremble. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  the  Catholic  and 
not  the  Protestant  was  the  original  faith  ;  in  that  case  the  Protestant  is 
not  safe,  but  has  every  reason  to  be  alarmed  at  his  situation. 

That  the  Catholic  religion  was  original  as  to  its  present  form,  and 
so  did  not  proceed  from  Protestantism,  is  a  position  proved  and  sup- 
ported by  the  following  reasons  : 

First,  that  the  difficulties  attending  such  a  change  would  have  been 
so  many  and  so  great  as  to  render  the  attempt  next  to  an  impossibility, 


DANIEL    BARBEB.  30 

and  this  by  reason  of  some  doctrines  in  the  Catholic  church,  %Yhich,  in 
case  they  were  not  taught  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  could  never  have 
been  introduced  but  with  the  greatest  diniculty  imaginable.  Some  of 
these  difficulties  I  will  mention.  It  is  a  principle  among  Protestants 
as  with  Catholics  that  Jesus  Christ  has  alone  the  power  of  instituting 
sacraments  because  he  alone  can  appoint  proper  instruments  of  convey- 
ing grace  to  our  souls.  Now,  if  Protestantism  which  allows  of  but  two 
sacraments,  was  the  religion  taught  by  the  Apostles,  and  the  establish- 
ed religion,  I  ask  any  man,  to  judge  by  what  means  five  new  sacra- 
ments, never  heard  of  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  could  afterwards  have 
been  imposed  upon  the  church,  and  rendered  articles  of  faith,  without 
the  greatest  difficulty,  without  clamor,  noise,  and  the  most  stubborn 
opposition  ?    The  thing  is  almost  incredible. 

At  Vvdiat  period  soever  we  may  suppose  the  supposed  alteration, 
would  not  every  good  Protestant  Bishop  immediately  have  stepped  for- 
ward, and  placing  himself  in  the  gap,  have  cried  out  against  such  an 
innovation,  and  such  monstrous  impiety  ?  What  !  the  revolutions  in 
states  and  empires  ;  the  changes  in  government ;  the  improvements  in 
arts  and  sciences  shall  be  recorded,  and  handed  down  to  us  on  the  his- 
toric page,  and  those  of  religion,  the  most  grand  and  important  of  sub- 
jects, shall  not  be  noticed  !  Is  such  a  thing  reasonable  ?  Is  it  credible  ? 
No  ;  in  such  a  revolution  ;  in  such  a  change,  the  dreadful  consequence 
of  universal  idolatry,  would  not  each  Protestant  have  taken  up  his 
pen,  and  alleged  that  Jesus  Christ  had  established  only  two  Sacraments, 
that  the  Apostles  had  never  established  but  two  ;  that  the  precise  num- 
ber, two,  had  been  handed  down  to  them  by  the  immediate  successors 
of  the  Apostles  ;  and  that  therefore,  no  human  authority  could  add  an- 
other, without  impiety  and  sacrilege  ?  It  is  impossible  but  they  would 
have  stigmatized  the  first  authors  and  abettors,  and  have  soon  cut  them 
off  from  the  communion  of  their  church.  The  least  to  be  supposed  is, 
that  the  bishops  and  pastors,  then  living  and  acting,  and  being  of  the 
same  religion  with  the  Protestants  of  the  present  age,  would  have 
exerted  all  their  power  and  authority  in  a  matter  so  important,  unless 
we  suppose  them  to  have  been  all  asleep,  and  lulled  into  a  state  of 
entire  indifference. 

In  pursuing  my  inquiry  on  the  ground  that  the  Protestant  was  the 
original  Christian  Church,  I  found  out  my  subject  embarrassed  and 
hedged  about  by  many  other,  not  less  powerful  difficulties ;  one  of 
which  is,  how  that  original  Protestant  Church  which  claims  herself  to 
be  the  elder  sister  of  the  Catholic,  ever  came  to  introduce  the  worship 
of  the  mass,  for,  here  we  are  to  consider  them  as  taking  everything 
relative  to  their  faith  and  worship  directly  either  from  the  Apostles 
themselves  or  those  who  did  receive  from  them.     Strange,  that  when 


40  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

the  Apostles  liad  taught  them  to  offer  simple  bread  and  wine,  merely 
as  a  memorial  of  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  instead  of 
this,  they  should,  in  after  time,  so  change  the  order,  as  to  make  it  an 
offering  of  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  a  living  sacri- 
fice to  be  daily  offered  for  the  benefit  of  the  faithful,  whether  living  or 
dead.  Now,  as  all  Protestants  do  deny,  that  in  former  times,  and  while 
the  Catholic  Church  was  not  yet  in  existence,  the  mass  was  a  doctrine 
ever  taught  by  an  Apostle  ;  the  only  conjecture  must  be  that  it  was  an 
invention  of  some  one  or  more  individuals  among  them  at  first,  and 
from  whom  it  spread  itself  far  and  wide,  and  at  length  became  every- 
where universal.  But  to  suppose  all  this  would  seem  to  exceed  the 
utmost  stretch  of  an  imagination,  sporting  in  realms  of  possibility. 
What  has  been  done  may  be  done  again,  unless  it  be  miraculous.  And 
will  the  same  means  produce  the  same  effect  ?  Will  any  means  what- 
ever produce  the  effect,  so  as  to  produce  in  all  Protestants  a  confidence 
in,  as  well  as  a  love  for,  the  Mass  ?  Does  the  present  hatred  which  pre- 
vails everywhere  among  that  class  of  Christians  towards  the  Mass,  look 
anything  like  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  supposition  that  it  was  at 
first  introduced  and  became  the  general  belief  of  Protestantism,  and 
that  too,  without  any  noise  or  opposition  ;  that  like  a  secret  charm 
it  pervaded  whole  kingdoms  and  empires,  and  so  still  and  silent  in  its 
introduction  and  progress,  that  not  one  historian  ever  attempted  to 
mark  the  period  of  time  when,  or  the  place  where,  it  first  made  its  ap- 
pearance ;  and  yet,  that  all  this  did  so  happen,  I  must  believe  ;  or  else 
I  must  not  believe  that  the  Protestant  religion  is  more  ancient  than  the 
Catholic. 

My  examination  next  brought  to  my  view  auricular  confession  ; 
this  was  an  Apostolic  doctrine,  or  it  was  not.  If  the  former,  the  dis- 
pute is  ended — the  obligation  is  imperative,  and  the  Protestant  claim  of 
being  the  first  Christian  church,  since  they  deny  it,  falls  of  itself  to  the 
ground.  But  supposing  it  not  to  be  of  divine  origin,  but  a  scheme  of 
human  invention,  here  I  am  to  encounter  several  potent  difficulties : 
For,  as  it  is  not  merely  a  point  of  speculation,  but  a  practical  and  very 
humiliating  duty,  and  indeed  so  crossing  to  a  man's  fallen  nature,  and 
the  pride  of  the  human  heart,  that  no  man  would  ever  have  submitted 
unless  he  was  first  convinced  that  he  could  not  be  saved  without  it, 
the  difficulty  of  introducing  such  a  practice,  considering  it  only  as  a 
human  invention,  is  not  lessened  but  increased,  by  the  consideration 
that  no  dignity  in  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical  departments  could  have  pow- 
er to  exonerate  a  member  of  the  church  from  the  obligation  to  confess. 
All  Bishops,  Kings,  Princes,  even  Emperors  and  Popes,  have  their 
equal  share  in  this  burden,  with  the  meanest  slave  ;  these  must  fall 
down  at  the  feet  of  their  confessors,  while  they  discover  their  most 


DANIEL    BARBER.  41 

secret  sins,  submitting  themselves  to  his  censure,  and  to  perform  the 
penance  ^vllich  he  may  hiy  upon  them.  Now,  to  say  that  this  practice 
was  not  taught  by  the  Apostles,  but  that  it  was  afterwards  continued, 
made  up,  and  introduced  by  the  cunning  craftiness  of  some,  without 
any  rational  motive  to  be  accounted  for,  yet  became  a  universal  prac- 
tice ;  in  such  case,  the  cpiestion  is  naturally  asked,  v/hich  of  the  tvro  is 
most  surprising,  the  extravagance  of  those  who  first  invented  this  yoke 
of  bondage  to  be  laid  on  themselves  and  others,  or  those  who  quietly 
submitted  to  it  ?  For  that  this  burden  was  universally  submitted  to  is 
an  unquestionable  matter  of  fact.  And  that  it  would  have  been  so  sub- 
mitted to  without  opposition,  without  noise  and  notice,  cannot  with 
good  reason  be  believed.  Hence,  then,  I  inferred,  that  the  Protestant 
was  not  that  primitive  church  which  Jesus  Christ  established  ;  and  if 
it  was  not,  then  my  inquiries  were  next  directed  to  the  important  ques- 
tion, whether  the  church  called  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was,  or 
was  not,  that  identical  church,  the  divine  Saviour  of  mankind  had 
founded  ;  and  on  which,  by  promising  to  be  with,  till  the  end  of  time, 
he  had  conferred  the  glorious  prerogative  of  infallibility.  My  inquiries 
led  me  to  that  conviction,  and  the  reasons  which  wrought  this  convic- 
tion, 3-0U  will  find  in  the  folloT\ing  letters,  which  were  written  to  a 
beloved  friend. 


[The  substance  of  the  following  letters  to  a  particular  friend  were 
not  written  with  any  other  design  than  to  correct  and  soften  those  hard 
and  bitter  feelings  entertained  against  the  Catholic  religion  and  worship, 
merely  from  a  prejudice  produced  by  misinformation,  and  the  want  of 
correct  knowledge  ;  they  are  now  offered  to  the  public,  together  with 
some  ethers  written  with  a  i)rincipal  view  of  inculcating  sentiments  of 
piety  and  the  love  and  fear  of  God]. 

LETTER    FIRST. 

My  Dear  Friend  : 

It  is  now  some  years  since  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  or 
any  of  your  family,  though  in  the  mean  time  I  have  been  sorry  to  hear 
of  many  things  spoken  by  you  concerning  myself  and  others  of  the 
family  in  consequence  of  our  professing  the  Catholic  faith  and  worship. 
You  cannot  but  know,  such  hard  and  unkind  treatment,  and  for  no 
other  cause,  cannot  but  hurt  and  wound  those  feelings  of  tenderness 
and  affection  which  connected  us  from  our  birth,  which  "grew  vrith 
our  growth  and  strengthened  v>ith  our  strength."  In  the  choice  of  re- 
ligion vv'c  all  have  an  equal  freedom  ;  but  to  make  a  right  choice,  truth 
alone  must  guide  us,  and  v,dierever  that  leads  we  must  follow.     Nothing 


42  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

could  have  tempted  me  to  change  my  religion  but  a  full  conviction  of 
the  danger  and  risk  I  must  otherwise  run  of  losing  my  future  life,  and 
that  world  to  come  in  which  dwells  righteousness.  As  these,  and  these 
oi\\j,  were  the  motives  of  my  change,  I  should  have  hoped  and  expect- 
ed that  one  so  near  and  dear  by  nature  w^ould  have  considered  me  but 
as  a  reasonable  man  inquiring  after  important  truth  ;  for  important  it 
must  be  to  any  one  born  an  alien  from  the  household  of  faith,  as  myself 
w^as,  to  be  led  back  with  an  inclination  to  be  instructed  in  a  religion 
which  I  must  consider  as  the  only  one  in  -which  we  can  have  any  sure 
confidence.  My  friend,  can  this  be  a  crime  ?  Is  it  a  crime  for  any  one 
to  look  well  to  the  care  of  his  soul,  even  at  the  loss  of  all  his  worldly 
honors  and  possessions,  and  his  best  friends  on  earth  ?  In  case  ycu 
have  hitherto  made  no  choice  in  religion,  or  have  taken  to  yourself 
one  which  cannot  bear  full  proof  of  its  Divine  Original,  my  prayer  is, 
that  you  may  reconsider  the  subject,  and  by  your  own  earnest  prayers 
seek  unto  God  to  give  you  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  A  mistake  in 
such  a  choice  may  prove  destructive  to  that  lasting  happiness  w^e  w^ould 
earnestly  wish  for. 

As  a  friend,  let  me  entreat  you  to  lay  aside  every  thing  but  good 
sense  and  candor  in  your  perusal  of  these  letters  ;  and  as  I  have  written 
nothing  but  simple  truth,  let  it  have  its  due  weight  on  your  mind.  So 
far  as  your  mind  at  present  may  indulge  any  false  or  erroneous  opinions, 
it  is  clearly  my  duty  to  endeavor,  as  far  as  I  am  capable,  to  correct  them. 

Amidst  the  confusion  of  the  w^orld,  I  know  of  but  one  means  of 
safety,  and  that  is  to  be  attentive  to  the  command  of  Jesus  Christ — hear 
the  Church  and  obey  the  Church.  He  did  not  say  Churches,  for  there 
was  but  one  ;  that  one  He  promised  should  continue  to  the  end  of  the 
world— that  He  w^ould  be  with  it,  and  that  the  Holy  Ghost  should  lead 
it  into  all  truth.  No  other  religion  has  ever  had  the  like  promise.  Can 
we  then  be  perfectly  safe  in  following  any  other  ?  You  cannot  say  so; 
for  then  His  promise  to  that  church  w^ould  have  been  of  no  importance. 
From  the  manner  in  which  I  have  treated  the  subject,  you  must  be  con- 
vinced that  the  Catholic  is  that  original  religion  to  which  the  promises 
Avere  made.  If  so,  what  then  can  we  look  for  or  expect  from  any  other? 
In  one  the  promise  is  sure  and  divine,  and  is  ample  security  to  our  souls 
in  well  doing.  In  the  other,  w^ho  can  show  one  promise  given  it  by  a 
power  divine  ? 

Let  me,  if  possible,  persuade  you  by  that  soul  of  yours  which  is  the 
gift  of  God,  and  which  will  endure  forever,  that  you  lend  a  favorable 
ear  to  what  now  most  intimately  concerns  your  eternal  welfare.  Death, 
my  friend,  may  be  near  ;  at  no  time  is  it  far  from  us  ;  for  wiiat  is  the 
longest  life  on  earth.  We  are  no  more  secure  of  heaven  because  we 
see  multitudes  like  ourselves  pursuing  principally  the  objects  of  the 


DANIEL    BARBER  43 

world.  Tell  me,  Avliere  are  those  who  take  delight  in  imitating  the 
lives  of  the  blessed  Saints  and  Martyrs  ?  These  were  always  at  their 
post.  The  world  never  hindered  them  from  their  prayers,  their  confes- 
sions, and  the  sacrament.  By  their  fervency  and  devotions  they  obtain- 
ed a  foretaste  of  that  happiness  which  shall  be  revealed,  and  for  which 
they  suffered  and  endured  all  manner  of  hardships,  cruelties,  and  even 
death,  courageously,  by  the  flames  or  the  sword  of  the  persecutor.  If 
heaven  cost  them  so  dear,  why  are  we  to  expect  it  will  be  afforded  us 
so  cheap,  and  on  terms  so  easy  and  accommodating  ? 

The  v,'orId  which  now  promises  so  many  lengthening  years  of  hap- 
piness will  soon  slide  from  beneath  our  feet,  leaving  us  pale  and  lifeless 
to  mingle  with  common  dust.  What  can  avail  us  in  that  dreadful  day, 
the  day  of  judgment,  unless  we  have  been  diligent  in  seeking  after  truth 
with  our  wdiole  heart,  and  with  a  full  determination  to  conform  our 
lives  to  its  doctrines  and  precepts  ? 

My  friend,  how  shall  I  persuade  you  to  turn  your  heart  and  affec- 
tions to  that  church  whose  banner  is  a  cross,  and  whose  reward  is  a 
kingdom  ?  Shall  I  persuade  you  by  the  joys  of  angels,  the  prayers  of 
saints,  the  blood  of  martyrs,  and  the  tears  of  holy  virgins,  who  have 
wept  and  bled,  and  died  for  the  catholic  faith  ?  Think  what  happi- 
ness they  now^  enjoy,  who,  while  on  earth,  took  so  much  delight  in 
worshiping  around  the  altar  and  the  tabernacle  wiiere  is  the  true  manna, 
that  real  and  spiritual  body  and  blood,  that  life-giving  food  to  the  faith- 
ful, that  clean  sacrifice  daily  offered  both  for  the  living  and  the  dead  ? 

You  will  ask,  perhaps,  wiiether  miracles  are  performed  in  these 
latter  days  ?  Let  me  beg  the  question  and  ask  why  not  ?  Can  you 
show  me  a  text  in  the  New  Testament  which  says  there  shall  be  no  more 
miracles  ;  or  tells  us  which  was  the  last  ?  Do  not  all  candid  historians 
agree  that  the  great  St.  Augustin  wrought  many  miracles  in  England 
about  the  year  700  ?  And  if  credit  is  due  to  candid  and  impartial  testi- 
mony, we  can  have  no  reason  to  doubt  their  having  been  wrought  thro' 
the  mighty  power  of  God,  even  in  our  ow^n  time.  But  as  such  a  belief 
is  no  article  of  Catholic  faith,  I  will  leave  it  for  the  present,  and  turn  to 
another  subject,  and  indeed  one  w^hicli  my  present  feelings  naturally 
suggest. 

The  enemies  of  Jesus  met  Simon  and  compelled  him  to  bear  the 
cross.  How  often  do  clouds  and  storms  arise  in  a  quarter  where  we 
expected  a  clear  sky,  and  perpetual  sunshine  ?  How  often  are  we  left 
and  forsaken  bj''  those  whose  hearts  we  never  suspected,  and  whose 
friendship  we  fondly  believed  would  never  fail.  But  when  some  of  us 
could  no  longer  hold  good  faith  with  the  reformation,  and  for  the  sake 
of  a  good  conscience  turned  aside  to  worship  at  the  altar  of  incense  and 
a  pure  offering— Malachi  1 :  i  i — we  are  left  and  forsaken  by  those  we 
had  long  loved  and  admired  ;  our  dearest  friends  and  nearest  relations, 


44  CATHOLIC    3IEM0IR8. 

even  some  of  our  own  mother's  children,  with  whom  we  enjoj'cd  long 
and  pleasant  days  of  social  friendship  and  delight,  and  with  whom  we 
felt  nothing  more  sensibly  than  the  kindest  affections  warm  from  the 
heart  and  sweetened  on  the  tongue.  Can  it  be  possible  that  these,  and 
such  as  these,  should  ever  combine,  like  men  in  battle  array,  to  wound 
and  injure,  by  sharp  words  and  unfeeling  reproaches,  and  for  no  other 
cause  but  for  having  embraced  the  catholic  faith  ?  From  sources  like 
these  the  heart  feels,  and  ever  must  feel,  the  wound  it  receives.  It 
faints  under  the  weight  of  such  a  cross,  and  turns  aside  for  relief.  Fain 
would  it  seek  some  lonely  vale  ;  some  silent  shade,  some  retired  wait ; 
some  place  to  weep  ;  to  pray  ;  to  meditate,  to  examine  and  learn  from 
the  lives  of  Saints  and  pilgrims,  what  were  their  trials  and  mortifica- 
tions on  earth.  Was  the  path  they  trod  rough  and  thorny  ?  And  is  it 
the  only  one  which  leads  to  happier  mansions  ?  These  in  their  life-time 
worshipped  at  the  same  altar,  and  have  transmitted  down  to  us  the  same 
faith  which  proved  sufficient  for  them,  and  is  the  only  one  we  can 
safely  confide  in.  Still  we  go  on  heavy  and  sorrowful ;  our  former 
friends  have  forsaken  us,  or  stand  afar  off.  O  Jesus  !  God  of  Christ- 
ians, is  not  this  one  of  the  nails  of  Thy  cross  ?  Painful  and  afilictive 
as  it  is,  what  is  it  in  comparison  with  thy  sufferings  for  me  ?  Yet  it 
causes  me  to  weep  sore  and  complain,  saying,  when  will  the  time  come, 
and  I  be  clean  escaped  from  these  low  elements,  this  perplexing  region 
of  sin  and  strife,  where  man  is  often  the  enemy  of  his  fellow  man  :  ene- 
mies to  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  one  faith,  and  to  that  one  reli- 
gion which  alone  can  secure  to  us  a  blessed  and  happy  life  to  come  ? 

But,  you  may  ask,  why  make  choice  of  the  Catholic  religion,  as 
you  very  well  know  it  is  a  religion  in  most  places  contemned  and  abhor- 
red ?  ]My  friend,  does  the  world  generally  hate  that  which  is  evil,  or 
that  which  is  good  ?  Did  it  love  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  and 
those  holy  martyrs  who  suffered  death  for  the  faith  ?  A  religion,  the 
world  hates,  may  be  the  only  one  which  heaven  approves.  But  we 
will  pursue  the  subject. 

In  addition,  then,  to  the  reasons  already  urged  for  my  embracing 
the  Catholic  faith,  it  is  the  first  and  most  ancient  religion.  It  is  the 
only  one  sanctioned  by  Jesus  Christ,  its  divine  founder,  and  the  only 
one,  too,  to  which  He  has  promised  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  a  permanent 
continuance  to  the  end  of  the  world.  All  other  religions  are  destitute 
of  a  divine  original,  and  being  mere  human  inventions,  can  depend 
only  on  the  fidelity  of  their  authors.  Divine  faith,  which  alone  can 
save  the  soul,  must  be  sought  for  where  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  ;  and  that 
spirit  is,  as  it  ever  was,  with  the  Church.  For  the  truth  of  this  turn  to 
all  the  saints  whom  God  has  blessed  for  the  holiness  and  sanctity  of 


DANIEL    BARBER.  45 

Ihcir  lives,  and  whose  very  names  are  significant  of  their  future  glory. 
Not  one  of  all  these,  but  was  of  the  Catholic  faith. 

In  this  church  is  to  be  found  full  and  ample  provision  and  know- 
ledge so  needful  for  the  restoration  of  the  sinner  to  the  mercy  and  favor 
of  his  God.  To  this  end  he  is  taught  humilily,  contrition  for  his  sins, 
confession,  penance,  and  absolution  ;  which  absolution  is  promised  in 
his  favor  by  that  same  authority— :\[at.  28—"  Whose  sins  ye  remit  they 
are  remitted  unto  them."  Will  you  ask,  can  man  forgive  sins  ?  He 
can,  when  Jesus  Christ  has  given  him  authority  to  do  so.  And  such 
authority  has  never  yet  been  wanting  in  that  church  to  which  He  gave 
the  Holy  Ghost.     And  that  church  was  then,  and  is  noic,  the  Catholic. 

My  friend,  adieu.  D-  B. 


LETTER    SECOND. 


My  Dear  Friend  : 

It  is  difficult,  in  most  cases  impossible,  to  arrive  at  the  knowledge 
of  truth,  unless  we  divest  ourselves  of  prejudices.  You  have  heard 
much  of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  and  of  that  much  but  very  little  indeed 
to  induce  you  to  admire  and  esteem  it.  But,  after  all,  is  it  not  still  pos- 
sible that  this  is  the  only  church  which  our  Divine  Saviour  has  estab- 
lished ;  and  that  in  this  only  is  to  be  found  that  true  faith,  without 
which  we  cannot  please  God  ?  Suppose  this  to  be  but  barely  possible  ; 
and  then  have  I  not  a  right  to  admonish  you  that  to  find  the  truth,  we 
must  not  only  seek  it,  but  seek  it  without  passion  or  prejudice  ? 

It  will  be  quite  natural  for  you  to  reflect,  that  my  advantages  in  in- 
quiring after  truth  have  been  somewhat  superior  to  yours,  and  that  the 
result  of  my  inquiries  has  been  by  no  means  terminated  in  a  plan  recon- 
cilable to  worldly  wisdom,  or  connected  with  prospects  of  ease  and 
temporal  felicity.  What  is  earth  compared  with  heaven,  or  a  short 
life  of  worldly  poverty  and  contempt  when  put  in  competition  with  the 
joys  of  eternity,  and  the  life  which  is  to  come  ?  Our  souls,  made  after 
the  image  of  God,  and  redeemed  by  His  blood,  are  too  precious  to  be 
lost  through  negligence,  or  a  heedlessness  in  searching  for  the  true  and 
only  path  trodden  by  the  saints  and  martyrs  of  all  ages.  If  they  were 
not  Catholic,  tell  me  what  were  they  ?  In  their  right  hand  they  held 
a  crucifix,  the  token  of  their  faith.  They  attended  the  daily  sacrifice 
of  the  altar ;  they  fell  on  their  knees  at  the  feet  of  God's  minister,  to 


46  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

confess  their  crimes,— they  passed  their  time  in  prayer  and  good  works 
—they  invoked  the  angels  and  saints  to  assist  them  by  their  prayers  and 
intercessions.  Surely  they  must  have  been  Catholics.  Of  this  you 
cannot  but  be  convinced,  by  reading  what  they  have  left  upon  record 
for  our  instruction.  And  just  as  sure  as  we  can  be,  of  any  tmth  in  the 
Bible,  so  sure  we  are  that  the  Catholic  is  the  only  true  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ— that  is  the  first,  the  original  which  Jesus  Christ  authorized  and 
established,  that  in  it  man  might  reap  the  fruits  of  the  Redeemer's  blood. 
What  a  misfortune  it  is  to  us,'  my  friend,  that  we  were  born  and 
educated  aliens  to  that  household,  or  family,  that  mystical  body  for 
which  Jesus  Christ  shed  his  most  precious  blood  ;  that  church  to  the 
safe-keeping  of  which  He  gave  the  faith,  the  doctrines,  the  priesthood, 
and  every  means  of  salvation,  as  the  holy  spirit  also  to  be  with  it,  and 
in  it,  to  guide  it  unto  all  truth  in  believing,  that  our  faith  might  stand 
in  the  power  of  God,  and  not  in  human  wisdom,  and  to  which  was  also 
given  an  authority  to  remit  the  sins  of  the  meek  and  humble  penitent. 

Mat.  28. 

The  promise  of  Jesus  Christ  secures  the  continuance  of  this  church 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  has  already  continued  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  years ;  and  though  frequently  assailed  by  the  hands  of  vio- 
lence, and  the  storms  of  persecution,  it  stands  secure  on  the  rock  en 
which  it  was  founded  ;  and  against  it  "  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail." The  trials  and  persecutions  it  has  endured  have  served  to  con- 
firm, and  not  to  shake,  its  foundation.  My  good  friend,  I  wish  I  could 
lay  before  you  the  lives  of  her  saints,  and  the  sufferings  of  her  martyrs. 
If  your  heart  were  not  made  of  adamant  it  would  bleed  and  soften,  and 
be  disposed  to  weep  at  the  bare  recital  of  the  cruelty  and  barbarity  of 
tyrants  on  the  one  hand,  while  on  the  other,  so  much  faith,  so  much 
piety  and  patience,  even  unto  death.  St.  Stephen  has  afforded  us  the 
first  example  ;  and  after  him,  thousands  have  been  called  on  in  like 
manner  and  resisted  unto  blood.  Had  the  same  persons  been  united, 
and  the  same  exertions  employed  against  any  other  order  of  men,  but 
the  Catholics,  it  must  certainly  have  destroyed  them,  or  worn  them  out. 
Do  I  here  relate  to  you  strange  things,  or  things  of  which  you  have 
never  heard  ?  Then  do  apply  to  some  neighbor  who  may  be  acquaint- 
ed with  church  history,  and  he  will  inform  you  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
Catholic  church  by  means  of  those  dreadful  persecutions  which  Pagan 
Rome  inflicted  on  her.  Thus  read,  inquire,  examine,  and  pray  Almighty 
God  to  give  you  a  right  understanding,  that  "  the  truth  may  make  you 
free,"    My  friend,  once  more  adieu.  !>•  B, 


DANIEL    BARBER.  ill 

LETTER    THIRD. 

My  Dear  Friend  : 

It  is  probable  that  you,  lilvc  many  others,  entertain  a  high  opinion 
of  Martin  Lutlier,  and  his  reformation.  For,  you  suppose  the  Catholic 
church  had  been  corrupted  in  her  faith  and  worship.  Such  a  supposi- 
tion is,  however,  false  and  groundless,  and  unless  you  can  tell  me  what 
these  corruptions  were,  at  w^hat  time,  and  by  v.hom  they  were  first  in- 
troduced, you  can  gain  no  credit  with  reasonable  men,  w^hose  faith  in 
Christ's  promises  is  firm  and  steadfast.  "I  will  send  you  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  he  shall  abide  with  you  forever."  "  I  am  with  you  always 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  w^orld."  As  to  her  faith,  doctrines,  and  wor- 
ship, the  Catholic  church  was  then  just  what  it  is  now,  and  just  what 
it  was  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity.  The  reformation  was  right  at 
the  beginning,  or  it  was  not.  If  right  then,  it  is  not  so  now  ;  for  the 
first  reformers  of  the  English  Church  held  strictly  to  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  and  burnt  to  death  such  as  denied  it.*  If  the  reform- 
ation was  a  Godly  work,  why  did  it  produce  such  a  flood  of  wickedness 
as  caused  a  general  complaint  in  all  countries  where  it  spread  ?  Why 
did  those  reforming  Bishops  in  England  clamor  so  loudly  of  the  sins  of 
the  times,  w^hich  they  charged  altogether  to  the  effects  of  the  reforma- 
tion ?  Of  these  I  could  give  many  quotations  from  Protestant  authors. 
But  leaving  these  for  the  present,  I  will  only  notice  some  effects  in  one 
single  point  of  view,  and  that  is  the  endless  divisions  it  has  produced 
in  the  religious  and  ecclesiastical  state  of  society.  For  a  full  proof  of 
which,  look  on  our  own  country,  into  our  neighborhood,  into  our  fam- 
ily. How  rent  and  torn  asunder,  by  dividing  into  sects  and  parties, 
even  to  the  destruction  of  that  love,  peace  and  harmony,  those  dear 
delights  and  sweetners  of  all  our  toils  and  all  our  cares. 

When  Martin  Luther  stood,  as  he  says,  a  long  time  alone,  in  the 
work  of  reformation,  let  me  ask  who,  or  where  at  that  time  was  the 
true  church  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Was  Luther  then,  singly  and  alone,  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church,  or  was  there  more  upon  earth  ?  And  if  none 
then,  there  is  none  now,  nor  ever  can  be,  unless  Jesus  Christ  comes 
again  to  make  and  establish  one.  A  man  may  make  his  own  church, 
but  net  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  any  more  than  he  can  make  a  world. 
In  short,  my  friend,  the  reformation  was  in  all  respects  calculated  to 
produce  on  society  the  same  effects  as  are  naturally  produced  in  a  family 
where  all  the  children  are  left  without  pious  example  or  instruction,  to 
choose  for  themselves  what  course  they  will  pursue,  or  w^hether  they 
will  most  approve  of  ways  and  means  tending  to  virtue  or  vice, 

Milner's  Letters, 


48  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

You  contend  for  christian  liberty.  But  unless  you  understand  the 
full  measure  of  it,  you  may  intrench  upon  licentiousness,  or  fall  into 
"damnable  heresies."  There  is  a  line  beyond  which  you  tread  at  your 
peril,  it  is  holy  ground.  This  line  separates  between  duty  and  foil}' — 
between  faith  and  presumption — between  the  prerogatives  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  those  duties  He  demands  of  us. 

And  where  do  you  find  that  he  ever  gave  a  man  authority  to  make 
a  new  religion,  or  new  model  an  old  one,  given  by  him  to  His  Apostles 
for  the  salvation  of  men's  souls  to  the  end  of  the  world  ? 

Reflect  seriously  one  moment.  Ask  the  people  of  the  old  world  if 
they  could  save  themselves  out  of  the  Ark  God  had  provided.  They 
will  tell  you  that  their  own  devices  were  but  folly  :  the  hills,  the  moun- 
tains, the  trees,  in  which  they  placed  their  confidence,  could  afford 
them  no  succour  in  the  dreadful  day.  Ask  Jesus  Christ  the  way  to 
salvation.  He  says,  hear  the  Church.  As  the  old  Bible  did  not  coin- 
cide with  those  new  doctrines,  the  reformers,  to  make  it  as  far  as  pos- 
sible yield  to  their  wishes,  disfranchised  and  condemned  142  Chapters. 
And  not  only  so,  but  they  gave  many  remaining  texts  a  different  lan- 
guage from  what  they  had  ever  spoken  before.  They  made  Job's  wife 
say  to  Job,  "curse  God  and  die,"  instead  of  "bless  God  and  die,"  as 
in  the  old  Bible. 

My  dear  friend,  do  j^ou  not  believe  that  faith  is  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ?  I  am  sure  that  you  will  answer  that  it  is.  The  next  question  is, 
what  is  that  faith  we  arc  bound  to  believe  in  ?  Here  the  only  rational 
answer  to  be  given  is,  that  at  least  it  is  the  very  faith  which  Jesus 
Christ  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  which  He  commanded  His 
holy  Apostles  to  preach  and  us  to  believe  ?  Now  what  is  that  faith  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures  ?  Is  it  whatever  you  may  please  to  believe  ? 
If  so,  it  is  likewise  whatever  your  neighbor  may  please  to  believe.  For 
you  have  no  more  right  to  believe  what  you  please  than  he  has.  Thus, 
if  you  have  a  right  to  believe  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  because 
it  appears  clear  to  you  in  the  Scriptures,  has  he  not  an  equal  right  to 
disbelieve  this  mystery,  if  he  cannot  find  it  there  ?  Do  you  not  sec 
that  in  this  way  there  will  be  just  as  many  faiths  in  the  world  as  there 
are  men  of  different  opinions.  If  among  all  these  there  be  but  one 
faith  in  the  world  which  can  be  true,  then  all  others  are  false  ;  and  can 
a  false  faith  lead  men  towards  heaven  ? 

As  to  the  only  certain  means  of  finding  the  true  faith,  let  me  draw 
your  mind  by  comparison.  Look  at  what  happens  often  in  temporal 
affairs.  A  father  dies  and  leaves  a  will :  the  children  all  good,  kind, 
and  affectionate,  loving  each  other,  meet  together  :  they  open  the  will 
and  read  it :  they  begin  to  think  differently  as  to  the  meaning  of  soihe 
things  contained  in  it :  they  talk  the  matter  over  again,  and  again,  but 


REV.     DANIEL    BARBER.  49 

60  far  from  agreeing,  they  but  differ  the  more.    Ko^v,  how  shall  they 
be  reconciled  ?     By  telling  them  to  look  at  the  will  again  ?     But  the 
more  they  read  it,  and  the  more  they  ponder  on  it,  the  more  the  dif- 
ference becomes  magnified.     What  course  is  left  for  them  ?   Why,  for- 
tunately the  wisdom  of  man  has  provided  a  remedy,  by  erecting  a  trib- 
unal to  examine  and  interpret  testaments  and  wills  according  to  law. 
To  this  tribunal  the  contending  parties  apply  ;  it  hears  all  their  reasons, 
it  pauses,  it  deliberates,  and  finally  decides  upon  the  matters  in  dispute, 
by  declaring  the  meaning  of  the  will  of  the  deceased  in  all  its  parts ; 
and  the  disputes  are  at  once  ended.     And  let  me  ask  what  are  the 
Scriptures  but  the  last  ^ill  and  testament  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  And  seeing 
as  we  do  by  the  diversity  of  creeds,  that  the  meaning  of  them  is  not  alike 
plain  to  the  understanding  of  every  man,  does  it  not  appear  reasonable 
to  you,  that  there  should  be  a  tribunal  to  declare  what  they  mean  ?  As 
for  instance,  whether  infants  ought  to  receive  baptism— whether  Jesus 
Christ  is  Gcd,  or  a  mere  creature  of  time,  as  many  pretend— whether  it 
be  the  meaning  of  Scripture  that  at  the  day  of  judgment  the  good  and 
the  wicked  shall  both  fare  alike,  as  som.e  preachers  contend  ?    Isow 
these  and  each  of  these,  are  questions  of  much  importance,  and  for  the 
want  of  a  living  judge,  and  a  competent  tribunal  to  determine  them,  as 
is  done  in  matters  of  a  temporal  concern,  too  many  pious,  well-mean- 
ing people  are  confounded,  divided,  and  rent  asunder  ;  become  aliens 
to  each  others  faith,  by  which  the  tender  heart  of  charity  is  wounded. 
Each  plainly  sees  his  neighbor's  error,  and  as  carefully  avoids  it  for 
the  sake  of  his  own.      Thus  every  man  judging  for  himself  proves  to 
be  a  fruitful  source  from  v/hich  new  articles  of  faith  are  produced,  and 
schism  upon  schism  is  multiplied  ;    while  ignorance  and  error  seal 
thousands  for  destruction.     The  least  reflection  convinces  us,  that,  in 
civil  society,  there  must  be  laws,  and  also  judges  to  understand  and  in- 
terpret those  laws.      A  thousand  law  books,  without  judges  legally 
authorized,  would  give  but  little  or  no  security  to  men's  temporal  in- 
terests, especially  if  every  man,  woman  and  child,  was  to  be  his  own 
judge.     We  will  suppose  that  all  the  books  written  on  law  and  juris- 
prudence be  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  people  ;  at  the  same  time, 
all  legal  judges,  and  every  court  of  justice,  to  be  annhiliated  ;   and 
upon  the  same  principle,  that  every  man  being  competent  to  judge 
for  himself  in  spiritual  things  by  having  in  his  hands  the  books  of  God, 
and  the  laws  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  every  man,  by  having  in  his  hands  the 
books  which  contain  the  rules  of  law  and  equity,  and  which  are  much 
easier  to  be  understood,  as  being  the  mere  productions  of  human  wis- 
dom and  skill,~suppose  every  man  assumes  to  himself  the  office  of  a 
judge,  in  all  matters  in  which  he  feels  himself  or  his  temporal  interest 
concerned.     In  such  case,  what  would  be  the  consequence  ?    AVhy, 

4 


50  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

civil  society  would  be  at  an  end.  Eyeiy  man's  hand  would  be  against 
every  man.  The  world  vrould  be  filled  with  violence,  rapine  and  mur- 
der, and  from  which  none  could  be  secure  but  by  burying  themselves 
in  lonely  deserts,  and  by  seeking  a  retreat  from  their  fellow -men  in 
mountains  and  forests. 

Kow,  if  human  society  cannot  suT)sist  without  laws,  and  judges  to 
interpret  thorn,  how  shall  we  find  the  true  faith,  and  the  will  of  the 
blessed  Jesus,  concerning  those  particulars  I  have  mentioned  ;  that  is, 
Christian  Sabbath,  infant  baptism,  whether  Jesus  Christ  is  God,  and 
whether  all  men,  whether  good  or  bad,  are  to  fare  alike  after  death  ?  I 
ask  how  can  we  all  come  to  a  certain  understanding  of  the  truth  in 
these  cases,  unless  there  be  some  authority  empowered  hj  Jesus  Christ 
to  declare  the  meaning  of  what  He  has  left  on  record  for  the  use  and 

CD 

benefit  of  his  church  and  cf  all  who  wish  to  be  his  people  ?  In  all 
matters  of  disputes,  doubt,  and  uncertainty,  relating  to  cur  faith  and 
practice,  Avhere  shall  we  go  for  a  perfect  understanding  ?  Don't  talk 
to  me  about  searching  the  Scriptures.  Our  forefathers  did  it,  and  they 
left  the  Church  of  England  and  became  the  followers  of  Robert  Brown, 
a  reformer  in  the  daj's  of  Queen  Elizabeth  Our  parents  did  it,  and 
each  changed  his  religion,  but  each  embraced  separate  ones.  Brother 
C.  did  it,  and  became  confident  that  the  Standing  Ordci*  is  a  religion 
quite  as  old  as  the  Apostles.  Uncle  J.,  by  the  Bible,  was  convinced 
that  the  Standing  Order  was  not  quite  so  old,  and  turned  to  be  a 
follower,  as  he  said,  of  John  the  Baptist.  An  old  lady  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, (I  was  told,)  searched  the  Bible  until  she  vras  persuaded  that 
only  herself  and  two  more  were  to  be  saved.  A  man  with  whom  we 
are  both  acquainted,  Mr.  R.  M ,  did  the  same,  until  he  found  him- 
self alone  in  a  religion  partly  Jewish  and  partly  Christian.     You  have 

searched  the  Bible  and  tell  n:e  v.hat  are  you  ?  Our  friend  Mr.  M n, 

as  to  his  religion,  stands  yet  quite  alone.  He  is  a  serious  well-meaning 
man,  and  wished  for  a  reformation  in  religion,  and  undertook  himself 
to  lead  the  way,  and  be  the  first  in  the  good  cause.  Like  Martin  Luther, 
he  stood  alone.  But  certainly  a  much  better  man.  For  while  Martin, 
by  reading  the  Bible,  found  a  comfortable  latitude  for  breaking  his 
most  solemn  religious  vows,  and  giving  a  loose  rein  to  the  passions  and 

appetite  of  nature,  M n,  by  reading  the  same  Bible,  corrected  them 

in  a  great  measure,  by  following  an  ab^^lemious  manner  of  living,  deny- 
ing himself  whclly  of  seme  kinds  of  meat,  according  to  the  law  given  to 
the  Jews.     He  also  became  convinced  of  the  necessity  cf  long  and  very 

strict  fastings,  after  the  example  of  our  Saviour.   By  all  which  M n 

lived  a  very  mortified  man,  and  with  a  design  only  to  save  his  soul. 


The  Congrcgationalists  were  eo  called  formerly,  in  Connecticut. 


DANIEL    BARBER.  51 

Now  let  me  ask  seriously  wliy  M n  alone  had  rot  as  good  au- 
thority to  begin  a  new  order  in  religion  as  any  of  the  reformers,  espe- 
cially since  he  took,  as  he  thought,  everything  he  adopted  out  of  some 
part  of  the  Bible  ?  I  say,  why  had  he  not  as  competent  authority  as 
Martin  Luther,  Henry  VIII,  John  Calvin,  or  Robert  Brown  ?  No  one 
can  deny  that  all  these  pretended  to  find  their  different  religious  in  the 
Bible.  And  as  many  more  may  be  found  in  it  by  such  as  are  wise  enough 
to  know  that  Jesus  Christ  did  not  mean  it,  when  He  said,  "This  is 
my  body,  this  is  my  blood."  Cannot  the  Quaker  show  better  grounds 
for  denying  water  baptism,  as  he  called  the  Baptist  for  denyina-  infant 
baptism,  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  for  keeping  Saturday  ;  or  even  the 
Unitarian  for  his  denying  the  divinity  of  our  Blessed  Saviour,  than  you 
can  do  for  your  denial  of  the  real  body  and  blood  in  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment ?    Adieu,  once  more.  D.  B. 


Letter  to  TVm.  B ,  Esq.,  of  New  Hampshire,  on  hearing  of  the 

death  of  bis  father. 

My  Dear  Friend  : 

Your  plaintive  letter  of  November  came  duly  to  hand  ;  by  it  I  am 
notified  that  the  husband,  the  father  and  the  friend,  has  taken  his  last 
and  final  leave.  Deep  and  sorrowful  is  the  reflection  to  those  who 
knew  him,  but  especially  to  those  of  his  family.  Under  this  severe 
visitation,  methinks  I  hear  your  sighs,  and  witness  your  tears.  One 
crying  in  all  the  likeness  of  woe,  my  husband  is  dead  !  the  long  and 
delightful  partner  of  my  joys  and  my  sorrows,  has  fallen  at  my  side  ; 
I  am  as  one  left  solitary  ;  and  even  in  the  midst  of  my  comforters  I 
seek  to  weep  alone.  At  the  right  hand  methiuks  I  see  the  children,  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  my  friend  leaning  one  upon  another,  all  bathed 
in  tears  ;  and  while  taking  one  more  view  of  the  pale  and  ghastly 
remains,  seem  to  say  one  to  another,  "  Oh  !  that  dear  fond  father,  who 
has  comforted  us  all  our  life  long,  who  caused  our  mornings  to  pass 
agreeably  away,  and  delightfully  our  evenings,  is  no  more  !  That 
empty  seat,  and  the  station  he  so  often  filled  in  our  little  family  circle 
serves  only  to  imprint  on  our  memories  his  familiar  and  endearing 
conversation  ;  those  lessons  of  wisdom  and  worth,  mixed  with  cheer- 
fulness of  mind  and  a  sweet  disposition.  Pale  death  has  scaled  those 
lips,  and  imposed  on  that  tongue  a  long  and  everlasting  silence.  " 

Yes,  my  friend,  how  often  have  you  listened  with  delight  to  his 
paternal  precepts,  and  the  endearing  lessons  of  his  love  and  affection. 
And  when  those  delightful  and  improving  hours  were  ended,  and  you 


53  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

retired  to  your  chambers,  what  happiness,  what  pleasure,  what  grati- 
tude did  you  not  feel  ;  and  with  what  tender  affectionate  sensibility  of 
soul,  say  one  to  another,  how  happy  the  children  of  such  a  father  !  And, 
indeed,  such  a  father  has  been  a  blessing  to  you  all  ycur  days,  till  at 
length  grown  weary  of  the  cares  and  trials  of  life  he  is  gone  !  his  sun 
went  down,  his  labors  on  earth  are  finished,  and  he  is  gene  to  receive 
according  to  his  works.  You  have  closed  his  eyes,  and  deposited  his 
mortal  part  in  the  tomb,  till  the  joyful  day  of  resurrection,  Ccn.fort 
one  another,  in  faith,  in  love,  and  in  good  v/orks.  And  when  you  look 
down  on  his  grave,  recount  his  virtues  and  imitate  his  worth.  In  the 
meantime,  please  to  accept  the  falling  tear  of  your  friend  ;  and  one 
whose  gratitude  of  his  favors,  whom  you  mourn  and  whose  feelings 
are  too  deeply  impressed  ever  to  forget  the  worth  of  him,  whom  I  shall 
sec  no  more.  D.  B. 

St.  Inigoes,  December,  1819. 

jSTote. — Here  I  would  wish  to  notice,  that  our  people  of  New  Eng 
land  have  generally  very  mistaken  ideas  concerning  the  condition  and 
treatment  of  slaves.  It  is  true,  I  can  speak  from  personal  knowledge 
only  in  respect  to  St.  Mary's  County,  Md.,  where  I  have  spent  nearly 
twelve  months.  Here  the  blacks  are  generally  treated  more  like  chil- 
dren than  slaves.  I  have  indeed  been  surprised  to  see  much  kindness 
and  tenderness  manifested  to  the  young  slaves,  by  masters  and  mis- 
tresses. The  blacks  appear  to  take  quite  as  much  comfort  and  satis- 
faction in  life  as  their  owners  ;  and  I  am  persuaded,  had  they  the  offer 
of  freedom,  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  those  slaves  would  not 
accept  the  offer.  In  truth,  I  have  found  but  one  instance  where  the 
black  people  were  hardly  treated.  D.  B. 


LETTER  TO  E.  D.,  Esq.,  AND  FAMILY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 

August  21st,  1820. 
My  Dear  Friend  : 

Very  lately  I  have  received  through  the  channel  of  a  newspaper, 
information  of  the  death  of  your  daughter  Mary.  This  unexpected 
and  melancholy  news  naturally  awaken  the  pathetic  and  tender  feel- 
ings of  a  friend,  and  more  especially  of  one  who,  in  former  times,  had 
the  pleasure  of  being  not  only  an  associate,  but  at  times  an  inmate  of 
your  family.  How  natural  in  reading  the  sorrowful  tale,  to  look  back 
in  reflection,  and  call  to  mind  the  times  which  are  passed,  and  those 
agreeable  happy  days  of  friendship  now  gone  forever,  and  like  all  those 
fleeting  scenes  connected  with  human  life,  no  more  to  return.  Noth- 
ing continues  long  with  us  the  same.     We  look  back  but  a  short  dis- 


BEV.     DANIEL    BARBER.  53 

tance,  and  arc  astonished  at  the  changing  scene  ;  and  in  the  very  midst 
of  our  reflection  we  are  surprised  at  beholding  those  innocent  circles  of 
purest  friendship  and  sincerest  affection,  broken  in  upon  by  the  un- 
timely fall  of  one.  A  deep  and  pensive  gloom  gathers  on  every  coun- 
tenance, while  the  social  joys  of  the  little  friendly  community  are  sud- 
denly turned  to  SDbs  of  grief,  or  broken-hearted  sorrow,  especially 
when  called  to  close  the  eyes,  or  to  view  for  the  last  time,  the  pale 
earthly  remains  of  one  so  lately  the  flower  and  pride  of  the  little  band. 
Alas  !  my  friends,  what  earthly  delights  and  filial  joys  are  covered  in 
the  deep  recesses  of  the  grave  !  That  fading  flower,  that  child  of  joy, 
the  once  flattering  hopes  of  her  parents,  and  the  fairest  expectation  of 
her  friends,  is  gone  ;  she  has  retired  behind  the  scene,  and  sleeps  to 
wake  no  more. 

How  freely  could  I  weep  over  that  little  mound,  that  heap  of  dust, 
that  mouldering  clay.  Ah  !  Mary,  what  wert  thou  once  !  and  now  what 
is  all  that  remains  of  thee  ?  Let  us  pray  for  the  faithful  departed  : 
"Grant  them  eternal  rest,  0  Lord!  let  perpetual  light  shine  upcn 
them  ;  and  may  they  rest  in  peace.  Amen."  To  pray  for  the  dead  in 
Christ,  was  a  universal  practice,  till  Martin  Luther,  that  unfortunate 
Roman  Catholic  Priest  who  first  laid  the  foundation  from  which  have 
been  raised  up  all  those  divisions  and  desseutions  in  faith  and  ail  eccles- 
iastical matters.  Praying  for  the  dead  is  a  practice  indeed  older  than 
Christianity  itself.  Mace.  12,  43.  Hence  every  pious  Catholic  con- 
cludes his  night  prayers  with  "  God  the  father  bless  us  ;  Jesus  Christ 
defend  and  keep  us  ;  the  virtue  of  the  Holy  Ghost  enlighten  and  sanc- 
tify us  this  night,  and  forever  ;  and  may  the  souls  of  the  faithful 
departed  through  the  mercy  of  God  rest  in  peace.  Amen.  "  My  friends, 
whatever  maybe  your  own  private  opinion  on  this  subject,  convinced  as 
I  am,  that  this  practice  was  never  omitted  by  the  faithful,  and  the  first 
fathers  of  Christianity,  you  will  indulge  me,  in  her  behalf,  whose  eyes 
have  so  lately  closed,  to  repeat  that  appropriate  form  of  devotion,  "  O, 
God,  the  Creator  and  Redeemer  of  all  the  faithful,  grant  to  the  souls 
of  thy  servants  departed,  but  especially  to  that  dear  soul  I  pray  for  to- 
day, the  remission  of  all  their  sins  ;  that  through  the  help  of  pious  sup- 
plications, they  may  obtain  the  pardon  which  they  have  always  been 
desirous  of,  who  livest  and  reignest,  world  without  end.     Amen.  " 

Another  principle,  intimately  connected  with  the  foregoing,  is  that 
in  case  the  departed  Mary  has  already  reached  heaven,  where  she  is 
perfectly  happy  herself,  has  she  forgotten  those  she  left  behind  ?  No, 
certainly.  But  according  to  Scripture  and  the  Primitive  Church,  there, 
still,  inspired  by  that  charity  that  never  fails,  she  is  praying  for  her 
parents,  her  nearest  friends  and  relations  on  earth,  perhaps  for  me  ! 


54  CATHOLIC    MEMOIR. 

Such  reflections  are  by  no  means  comfortless  to  those  who  on  their 
return  from  the  closing  grave  of  one  s^  dear  to  them  in  life,  are  utter- 
ing in  deepest  accents  of  sorrow,  "  Ye  that  have  lost  an  angel  weep  for 


me." 


Yours  with  much  esteem,  D.  B. 

St.  Inigoes,  Md. 


Extracts  of  a  Letter  to  a  Female  Frie^'d,  Dated  St. 
Inigoes,  December,  1819. 

Miss  A.  S r,  I  am  now  one  hundred  miles  below  the  City  of 

Washington.  In  this  county  (St.  Mary's)  I  find  many  most  agreeable 
families.*  The  people  here  arc  generally  both  wealthy  and  hospit- 
able ;  so  that  I  find  myself  at  home  in  every  gentleman's  house  ;  which 
often  puts  me  in  mind  of  my  former  friends,  who,  if  they  have  forgot- 
ten me,  it  is  my  misfortune.  Here  I  find  not  a  family  but  such  as  are 
constant  in  reading,  prayer  and  works  of  faith.  These  are  the  people 
whom  you  put  down  as  idolators. 

I  have  been  to  view  a  very  ancient  Protestant  church,  called  St. 
Mary's,  by  the  side  of  which  is  a  tomb  which  was  some  years  ago  open- 
ed, and  the  remains  of  the  lady  of  Governor  Col  vert,  alias  Lord  Balti- 
more, taken  up  after  having  been  entombed  more  than  a  hundred  years. 
Some  curious  laces  taken  from  her  last  dress  in  the  coflin,  are  now  in 
possession  of  a  lady  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject.  The 
town  of  St.  Mary's,  once  the  residence  of  the  governor,  and  capital  of 
the  State  of  Marj'land,  and  where  th's  ancient  church  built  in  the  form 
of  a  cross  stands,  is  reduced  to  rubbish  and  ruins,  there  not  being  more 
than  one  or  two  houses  in  all  the  plain.  Over  the  altar  in  the  church 
are  the  images  of  Moses  and  Joshua. 

I  find  the  principal  part  of  the  people  here  Catholics,  who  very 
strictly  observe  all  the  feasts  and  fasts  as  they  arc  put  down  in  your 
prayer  book.  These  certainly  appear  to  take  a  great  deal  more  pains 
and  labor  to  secure  their  salvation  than  many  among  Protestants.  Let 
me  now  turn  to  Mrs.  D.  and  ask  the  following  questions  :  First,  in 
t'le  Sacrament  do  you  receive  anything  more  than  bread  and  wine  ?  If 
anytling  more,  what  is  it  ?    If  nothing  more,  why  receive  it  kneeling 

*  Among  the  many  families  in  St.  Mary's  County,  to  whose  politeness  and  attention  I 
shall  ever  feel  the  most  ttnder  obligations  cf  gratitude  and  thankfulness  are  the  following, 
viz.  :  Smith,  Dunkir.son.  Clark  Jones,  Ford,  Williams,  McWilllams,  Neal.  Ploudcn  Binnie, 
Combs,  Medley  Kilgour,  Greenwel!,  Taylor,  Manning,  Ilayden.  These  I  ask  once  more  to 
accept  my  thanks  and  best  wishes. 


DANIEL    BARBEll  55 

at  one  lime  more  than  another  ?  When  Jesus  Christ  said,  "This  is  my 
body  and  this  is  my  blood,"  did  He  mean,  this  is  not  my  body,  and  this 
is  not  my  blood  ?  JMadamc,  mast  it  not  be  considered  a  strange  thing 
that  Christ's  words  concerning  the  Sacrament  were  never  rightfully 
understood,  for  the  space  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years,  even  until 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  made  supreme  spiritual  head  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  not  till  after  the  first  reformers  had  burnt  to  death  these  who 
denied  the  real  body  and  blood  in  the  Sacrament  ?  I  add  nothing  mere, 
only  beg  you  will  reflect  on  the  consequence  of  adhering  to  the  wrong  side 
in  a  doctrine  so  plain  and  important.  Please  accept  my  best  wishes  for 
time  and  eternity.  Now,  Miss  A.,  taking  it  for  granted  that  you  are 
punctual  in  saying  your  praj'crs,  evening  and  morning,  give  me  leave 
to  advise  you  to  redeem  half  an  hour  each  day,  for  the  purpose  of 
spiritual  reading  and  meditation.  Reflect  often  on  death,  it  may  be 
near,  and  on  that  world  to  which  we  are  hastening.  Give  only  small 
portions  of  time  to  amusements,  and  be  careful  to  bring  back  with  you 
an  innocent  mind.  Never  go  abroad  without  first  repeating  the  Apostle's 
Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer.  Be  thoughtful  in  the  midst  of  your  pleas- 
ures, and  from  those  things  which  are  short  and  fleeting,  collect  some- 
thing which  may  be  durable.  When  you  dance  forget  not  the  last 
dance,  the  dance  of  death  ;  as  also  sickness,  old  age  and  the  last  groans 
on  a  dying  pillow.  When  dancing  reflect  how  many  have  danced  be- 
fore you,  and  who  arc  now  mouldering  in  the  dust,  or  perhaps  in  their 
last  agonies.  Never  forget  to  pray,  "Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy 
on  departing  souls."    My  friend,  adieu.  D.  B. 


The  venerable  Daniel  Barber  returned  from  the  south  to  Clare- 
mont  about  the  time  that  his  son  Virgil  came  thither  himself  in  the 
quality  of  missionary  priest. 

The  handful  of  Catholics  who  had  been  admitted  into  the  church 
by  Rev.  Father  FFrench,  were  soon  gladdened  by  seeing  their  numbers 
increase.  This  was  due  to  the  influence  of  their  own  examples,  to  the 
exertions  of  that  pastor,  and  also  to  the  reading  of  the  books  given  by 
Bishop  Chevrus.  They  soon  felt  the  need  of  a  church  edifice,  and 
then  there  was  the  question  of  procuring  support  for  the  pastor ;  for 
these  early  settlers  were  few  and  poor.  In  order  to  accomplish  these 
ends  Father  Virgil  went  to  Canada,  and  there  obtained  material  help. 
With  this  help  he  began  the  construction  of  a  church  edifice,  which  is 
yet  standing.  He  connected  this  building  with  the  house  in  which  he 
was  born.  The  house  was  a  large  frame  structure  with  good  basement, 
and  over  the  church  proper  there  was  a  story  to  be  used  as  a  study 


56  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

room  and  lecture  hall.  This  kind  of  academies  is  to  this  day  quite 
common  in  New  England.  The  house  was  sufhciently  large  to  accom- 
modate several  hoarders. 

These  huildings  we  had  the  pleasure  of  visting  a  month  ago  (Oct. 
1885).  They  are  now  much  dilapidated  indeed,  yet  to  us  they  were 
objects  of  sincere  veneration.  Here  it  was  that  the  first  Mass  in  New 
Hampshire  was  celebrated  ;  here  the  sanctifying  waters  of  baptism 
were  poured  on  the  head  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Barber  and  six  of  her  children 
or  grand-children, — perhaps  the  first  baptisms  administered  in  New 
Hampshire.  Here  many  who  were  not  of  the  fold  were  brought  back 
into  it  by  the  exertions  of  Father  Virgil  Barber.  In  that  frame  house 
where  he  had  been  born  the  saintly  Jesuit  used  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  In 
the  little  church  adjoining  he  would  celebrate  the  holy  Mass  served  by 
his  venerable  father,  and  administer  Holy  Ccmmunion  to  his  dear 
parents  and  relatives.*  As  to  the  academy  we  have  been  told  without 
inquiring  about  it,  that  it  was  one  of  rare  excellence,  and  this  we 
readily  believe,  for  Virgil  Barber  had  six  years  before,  been  president 
and  chief  teacher  of  a  Protestant  academy  in  the  State  of  New  York  ; 
and  again  in  the  city  of  New  York  he  and  his  wife  had  a  very  flourish- 
ing school.  We  know  positively  that  the  remembrance  of  him  as  a 
teacher  is  quite  vivid  about  Claremont  to  this  day,  and  it  is  worthy  of 
note  to  record,  that  in  that  humble  corner  of  New  Hampshire  he  had 
prepared  for  their  theological  course  such  men  as  Fathers  Yv'iley, 
Fitton  and  Tyler.  These  three  pupils  of  Father  Virgil  Karberwere 
admitted  by  Bishop  Fenwick  in  his  own  house  in  Boston  and  received 
their  ecclesiastical  instruction  and  training  from  the  venerable  prelate 
himself. 

In  the  records  of  Bp.  Fenwick  we  find  the  following  entry  for  18th 
Sept.  1826  :  "  Mr.  Daniel  Barber,  the  father  of  Virgil  Barber,  arriv- 
ing from  Claremont  on  a  visit  to  the  Bishop,  bringing  with  him  Mr. 
Wm.  Tyler,  whom  he  introduces  and  recommends  to  him  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  ecclesiastical  state.  The  Bishop  is  pleased  with  the  pro- 
gress made  by  him  in  his  studies,  and  having  received  a  good  account 
of  him  on  other  points,  admits  him.  Young  Mr.  Tyler  is  a  relative  of 
Mr.  Barber,  and  has  received  the  principal  part  of  his  education  from 
Kev.  Virgil  II.  Barber  in  his  academy  at  Claremont.  " 

The  venerable  Daniel  B.  must  have  felt  much  pleased  when  he  saw 
his  nephew  admitted  as  a  candidate  for  the  priesthood.  A  few  years 
later  Wm.  Tyler  vras  ordained  priest,  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Vicar 
General  of  Boston,  and  finally  was  consecrated  Bishop  for  the  See  of 
Ilartfort,  Connecticut. 


*    The  small  church  erected  by  Kev.  Virgil  Barber  v.as  used  as  a  Parish  Church  as 
late  as  18G6,  and  the  pastor  occupied  the  old  Barber  hoiuestea-1  as  a  residence. 


REV.    DANIEL    BARBER.  57 

Our  venerable  friend  Daniel  helped  his  son  as  teacher  in  his  acad- 
emy, (Bp,  F.  memoranda),  and  this  was  their  principal  means  of  sup- 
port. 

Tlie  first  convert  in  Clarcmont,  the  venerable  Mrs.  Barber,  departed 
life  in  the  old  homestead  in  1825,  receiving  the  last  Sacraments  at  the 
hand  of  her  admirable  son.  Rev.  Virgil,  undoubtedly  in  presence  of 
her  worthy  husband. 

This  was  a  great  aflliction  to  our  venerable  friend,  and  he  again 
spoke  of  going  south  to  Maryland,  thus  to  end  his  life  in  the  humble 
walks  of  peace  and  poverty. 

Yet  he  had  at  Claremont,  children  and  grand-children  whom  he 
sincerely  loved  ;  there  was  the  grave  of  his  dear  wife,  and  the  church 
and  the  school  erected  by  Virgil. 

When  his  intention  to  leave  his  home  became  known  to  them, 
they  failed  not  to  express  their  sorrow  at  the  prospect  of  his  departure 
from  amongst  them,  and  begged  of  him  to  remain  in  Claremont.  On 
this  occasion  it  was  that  he  addressed  to  them  the  following  admirable 
letter  which  foims  the  last  page  of  his  book.  (Catholic  Worship  and 
Piety). 

"My  Eear  Children: 

Your  filial  love  and  kind  affection,  expressed  in  your  joint  letter 
about  the  time  I  left  Claremont,  I  accept  v»ith  the  fondest  feelings  of 
tenderness  and  gratitude,  It  will  ever  serve  to  me  as  a  cordial ;  as  a 
sweet  remembrancer  of  your  tender  sensibility,  which  prove  to  me  the 
joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart.  This  choice  memorial  of  your  love  to 
me,  and  best  wishes  for  my  comfort  and  happiness,  I  shall  lay  by  me 
in  safe  keeping.  I  shall  carry  it  vrith  me  in  my  retirement,  relying  on 
its  spirit  and  influence  to  console  and  cheer  me  under  the  wounds  of 
disappointment,  pain  and  sickness,  by  teaching  me  how  to  bear  all 
things,  and  hope  for  nothing  but  what  it  may  please  God  to  send. 

"You  must  be  sensible,  my  dear  children,  that  seventy  years  have  been 
separating  me  more  and  more  from  everything  on  earth,  once  seeming 
as  dear  to  me  as  life  itself.  The  once  tender-hearted  friends  and  best 
companions  of  my  juvenile  j'ears,  that  favorite  season  of  human  life, 
have  forsaken  me — they  have  gone  ;  my  wishes  and  imagination  seek 
them  in  vain — they  arc  not  !  Their  names  only  may  be  found  on  cold 
marble  monuments,  here  and  there  erected  to  point  out  the  spot ;  say- 
ing, or  seeming  to  saj^ — there  lies  the  once  fond  mother — and  there  the 
child  of  joy  and  sorrow.  The  fond  lonely  remembrance  excites  the 
involuntary  tear,  while  the  heart  labors  to  heave  another  deeper  sigh. 

"  I  look  back  again  to  the  pleasant  scenes  of  early  life.  Here  is  one 
object  ever  presenting  itself  to  my  recollection  ;  it  is  her  who  once,  and 
for  many  years,  was  the  kind  associate  of  all  my  cares,  my  hopes,  and 


58  CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 

wishes.  Yes,  for  many  a  year  we  travelled  the  rugged  path  of  life  to- 
gether ;  and  at  a  time  too,  when  the  looks  and  smiles  of  our  helpless 
little  children,  dependent  on  us  for  their  comfort  and  protection,  called 
into  exertion  every  principle  of  care  and  activity.  Our  anxious  desires 
for  the  future  happiness  and  prosperity  of  these,  gave  a  pleasure  to  our 
toils,  our  labors  and  sufferings  ;  our  hearts  comforting  us  at  the  same 
time,  with  the  fullest  assurance  that  these  same  little  ones,  at  a  future 
time,  would  add  greatly  to  our  happiness  by  supplying  our  wants,  if 
needy,  consoling  our  declining  years,  and  wiping  away  for  us  the  tears 
of  sorrow  and  old  age. 

"  Such  were  once  the  joys — the  comfort,  the  hopes,  which  sweet- 
ened all  our  cares,  and  made  life  itself  delightful.  These  were  my 
happy  days  ;  and  these,  in  a  temporal  sense,  formed  the  happiest  period 
of  m}^  life.  That  period,  hovv^ever,  was  short ;  it  is  past — it  is  gone 
— gone  to  return  no  more  !  How  soon  passed  away  that  bright  and 
lovely  morning  of  life,  which  promised  long  and  lengthening  years  of 
pleasure  and  delight  !  Every  fond  prospect  smiled  at  a  distance,  and 
anticipation  from  the  threshold  of  her  various  avenues,  claimed  attention 
to  her  syren  song — scon  the  curtain  drops — fancy  gives  place  to  reality. 
Upon  close  inspection,  the  beauties  once  admired  are  seen  to  fade  and 
every  earthly  charm  loses  its  chiefest  delight. 

"  This,  my  children,  is,  has  been,  and  ever  will  be  the  case  of  the 
world  and  its  votaries.  Nothing  here  is  stable — nothing  substantial- 
nothing  on  which  we  can  rely  for  the  present  and  future  happiness, 
but  God  and  true  religion.  Trials,  of  one  kind  or  another,  you  may 
reasonably  expect  during  this  term  of  your  mortal  pilgrimage.  Was 
it  always  sunshine  with  the  saints  on  earth  ?  How  many  a  weary  pil- 
grim has  carried  the  sign  of  his  faith  through  good  report  and  e\il 
report  !  Take  these  for  your  guide  ;  these  heroes— these  champions  of 
Christianity— and  follow  them  on  to  victory  and  glory.  They  were 
men  obnoxious  to  the  same  passions  that  we  have  to  contend  with ; 
they  had  their  temptations,  and  their  trials,  to  withstand  ;  and  the 
same  grace  which  was  given  them  is  offered  to  every  one  of  us,  and  by 
it  we  may  overcome. 

"My  dear  children,  be  not  only  steadfast  in  the  faith,  but  per- 
severe in  every  Christian  duty.  Life  is  short,  and  soon  will  its  trials 
be  at  an  end.  In  this  world  we  often  part  and  meet  again.  When- 
ever we  shall  arrive  in  Heaven,  there  will  be  no  more  separation  ;  it 
will  be  our  permanent  abode,  a  habitation  of  everlasting  joy  and  re- 
joicing. 

"  I  am  sensible,  my  dear  children,  that  I  leave  you  sorrowing,  and 
with  the  fearful  apprehension  that  I  shall  iinish  my  earthly  course  soon, 
and  find  my  grave  in  the  land  of  strangers.     Where  we  die  is  of  little 


DANIEL    BARBER  66 

consequence  ;  to  be  prepared  is  the  main  thing.  Still,  to  depart  in  the 
midst  of  friends,  and  in  the  l)osom  of  onr  family,  is  a  reflection  sooth- 
ine:  to  the  human  feelino-s.  Home  and  friends  have  their  worth  and 
estimation  ;  but,  when  death  approaches  what  can  these  do  ?  They 
can  shed  the  tear  of  sorrow  at  our  bed  side,  and  offer  their  prayers  for 
our  comfort  and  the  consolation  of  the  Spirit.  To  know  the  worth  of 
these,  ask  death-beds  ;  they  can  tell. 

"  And  to  conclude,  v,diether  I  am  present  with  you,  or  absent  from 
you,  my  prayer  is,  that  you  live  in  peace  and  love,  striving  together  in 
the  true  faith  of  the  gospel.  And,  when  the  last  trumpet  shall  sound, 
and  dissolving  Nature  utter  her  last  groan,  then  may  you  be  enabled, 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  to  stand  secure  on  the  ashes  of  the  Uni- 
verse, and  exclaim,  '  I  have  lost  nothing.  '  " 


The  only  reliable  information  we  could  obtain  about  the  life  of 
Rev.  Daniel  Barber  after  he  left  Claremont,  came  through  Rev.  R.  W. 
Brady,  president  of  Worcester  College,  who  himself  kindly  wrote  for 
information  on  the  subject  to  some  of  the  other  members  of  the  order. 
He  writes  :  "I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  Rev.  Dan.  Barber  had  a 
home  with  us  on  account  of  his  son  Virgil,  and  on  account  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  family.  He  used  to  have  the  privilege  of  going 
from  one  house  to  another  of  ours  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  " 
He  used,  when  he  came  south,  to  spend  some  of  his  time  in  Washing- 
ton, visiting  and  remaining  a  few  days  with  several  Catholic  families. 
I  remember  having  seen  him  at  my  father's  in  Washington.  I  remem- 
ber he  having  said  his  beads  or  read  his  prayer  book  telling  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  to  chat  on  and  not  mind  him.  (Fath.  W.  C.  Clark  to 
Father  Brady)."* 

Old  Father  D.  Barber  loved  to  visit  the  old  Catholic  families  of  St. 
Mary's  Co.,  Md.,  but  was  ill  pleased  when  he  did  not  find  the  cross, 
the  sign  of  our  salvation,  in  the  department.  *  Where  is  your  sign  ?  ' 
he  would  abruptly  ask.  He  died  in  1834,  at  St.  Inigoes,  Md.,  aged  78 
years,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  that  mission  house  of  the 
Jesuits.  His  last  words  were  an  expression  of  sorrow  for  having  preach- 
ed heresy  30  years,  and  a  fervent  prayer  to  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary, 

*  Sister  M.  J,  thinks  that  tha  Governmant  had  allowed  him  a  smUl  annuity  in  consid- 
eration of  liis  service  in  the  army  of  the  revolution. 


60  CATHOLIG    MEMOIRS. 


Preface  to  the  Life  of  Rev,  Virgil  Barbei^, 


It  must  be  conceded  that  of  all  the  converts  to  the  Catholic  Church 
in  New  England,  there  is  not  one  (Mrs.  Barber  being  excepted)  who 
sacrificed  so  much  for  the  sake  of  honoring  God  and  saving  his  soul,  as 
the  subject  of  the  following  memoirs.  Rev.  Virgil  Barber  by  becoming 
a  Catholic  not  only  lost  his  property  and  position  in  society,  as  he  knew 
well  he  would,  but  he  voluntarily  separated  from  his  accomplished  wife, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  and  from  his  children,  five  in  number,  of  whom 
the  youngest  was  only  ten  months,  and  that  in  order  that  he  might  lead 
a  life  of  perfection  by  the  observance  of  the  perpetual  vows  of  chastity, 
poverty  and  obedience  in  the  austere  order  of  the  Jesuits.  Heretofore 
very  little  has  been  known  about  the  conversion  and  labors  of  Father 
Barber. 

Through  the  very  great  kindness  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of 
Boston  we  have  been  permitted  to  examine  the  Records  or  Memoranda 
of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bp.  Fenwick,  and  were  much  surprised  and  delighted 
to  find  a  full  and  satisfactory  history  of  the  wonderful  conversion  cf 
Virgil  Barber  and  wife,  written  by  that  eminent  Prelate. 

The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  wrote  that  history  in  connection  with  his 
first  visit  to  the  Catholic  Congregation  at  Claremont,  New  Hampshire, 
of  which  Rev.  V.  Barber,  S.  J.,  was  the  pastor  at  that  time.  No  one 
was  better  qualified  than  Bishop  Fenwick  to  write  the  life  of  this  remar- 
kable man,  for  he  it  was  who  had  baptized  him,  his  wife  and  family, 
at  New  York,  when  he  was  Administrator  of  that  Diocese  and  not  yet 
a  Bishop.  Bishop  Fenwick  encouraged  Virgil  Barber  and  his  wife  to 
aspire  to  a  high  perfection,  and  enabled  them  to  accomplish  their  ear- 
nest desire  to  separate  in  order  to  enter  a  Religious  life. 

During  all  his  life  Bishop  Fenwick,  whom  Bp.  Fitzpatrick  styles 
one  of  the  best  and  most  virtuous  of  men,  ceased  not  to  interest  himself 
in  every  member  of  the  Barber  family ;  and  his  sketch  of  the  career  of 
Rev.  V.  Barber,  which  now  appears,  we  believe  for  the  first  time,  will 
be  read  with  much  interest. 


REV.     VIRGIL    BARBER.  61 

The  anecdote  of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  book,  which  had  so  much  in- 
fluence on  the  subsequent  life  of  Father  Barber,  \vas  communicated  to 
us  from  Three  Rivers,  Canada.  Some  entries  made  at  different  times 
in  the  book  of  memoranda  of  Bishop  Fenwick  have  given  us  some  more 
information  about  the  hfe  of  our  venerable  friend  ;  but  we  are  particu- 
larly thankful  to  Sister  Mar}^  Josephine,  of  the  Visitation  Convent  of 
St.  Louis.  She  is  the  youngest  and  only  surviving  child  of  Rev.  Virgil 
Barber.  Through  her  kindness,  and  with  the  approval  of  her  Reverend 
Superiors,  we  have  been  enabled  to  place  before  our  readers  copious 
extracts  from  the  JMemoirs  she  wrote  about  her  father. 

These  Memoirs,  together  with  some  of  his  letters,  v>-ill  be  found 
full  of  interest ;  and  in  the  biography  of  her  mother,  which  will  follow 
this  compilation,  the  reader  will  find  many  unpublished  accounts  which 
throw  yet  more  light  upon  the  subject  of  these  Memoirs. 

We  have  thought  it  best  to  print  our  compilation  without  comments. 
May  we  listen  to  the  voice  of  God  with  as  much  docility  as  Rev.  Virgil 
Barber  did  ! 


62  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


Rev,  VIRGIL  HORACE  BARBEI[, 

OF    THE    SOCIETY    OF   JESUS. 


"To  see  my  dear  family  my  most  and  only  precious  treasure  on  ear' h,  possess  the 
gisace  to  despite  the  world  and  the  vanities  of  time,  and  live  oniy  for  eternity,  leaves 
me  without  a  wish,  this  side  of  the  grave."'— Yiegil  Barber. 


When  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Fenwick  arrived  in  Boston  in  1825,  he 
found  "  a  small  brick  church  in  Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  erected  by 
the  exertions  of  the  Rev.  Virgil  H.  Barber,  who  now  officiated  in  it. 
The  Catholics  who  attend  it  for  divine  worship  are  almost  entirely  con  • 
verts  to  the  faith  within  these  five  or  six  years  past.  They  are,  to  the 
number  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  individuals  in  all,  scattered  over 
a  district  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles." 

Of  Claremont  and  Rev.  V.  Barber  he  wrote  in  Memoranda  {1S2G, 
31ay  2  Id)  : 

"  The  Bp.  sets  out  for  Claremont,  Kew  Hampshire,  in  order  to  ad- 
minister the  holy  sacrament  of  confirmation  to  the  congregation  under 
the  charge  of  Rev.  V.  H.  Barber,  whose  church  he  had  promised  to 
visit  at  this  time. 

June  2d.  Arrives  in  Claremont  after  a  tedious  journey— the  wea- 
ther excessively  warm. 

June  Iftli.  The  Bishop  celebrates  Mass  and  gives  confirmation  to 
twenty  one  individuals,  male  and  female,  having  previously  addressed 
them  on  the  sacrament  and  the  dispositions  for  worthily  receiving  it. 
The  church  is  greatly  crowded  ;  the  greater  part  assembled  are  Protes- 
tants from  the  church  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  village  which  they 
have  completely  deserted,  to  the  very  great  dissatisfaction  of  the  Minis- 
ter there  attending.  From  the  impossibility  of  all  entering  the  church 
many  occupy  the  rooms,  belovv'  and  above,  of  the  house  adjoining,  and 
strive  through  the  doors  and  windows  to  catch  a  view  of  what  is  pass- 
ing ;  and  a  still  greater  number  line  the  street  and  occupy  the  ground 
next  to  the  side  of  the  church,  unable  to  approach  nearer  for  the  crowd. 
This  anxiety  of  the  Protestants  of  this  neighbourhood  to  observe  the 
ceremony  on  this  occasion  will  not  surprise  when  it  is  recollected  that 
it  is  only  a  very  few  years  since  the  Catholic  religion  was  introduced  in 
Claremont— that  before  that  period  the  grossest  ignorance  prevailed 


ItEV.     VIRGIL    II     BARBER.  63 

among  the  people  in  regard  to  the  tenets  of  Catholics,  and  the  strongest 
prejudices  existed,  and  that  even  now,  thongli  much  care  has  been  taken 
to  undeceive  them  a  disposition  among  the  greater  part  exists  not  alto- 
gether favorable  to  the  growth  of  catholicity." 


Jil'ii'iiilllHI!- 


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64  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Whilst  noticing  the  proceedings  of  this  day  in  this  section  of  the 
Diocese,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  leave  some  account  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Church  at  Claremont,  and  particularly  of  the  conversion  of 
its  founder,  the  Tie  v.  Yirgil  H.  Barber. 

The  Bishop  first  saw  and  became  acquainted  with  the  Eevd.  Mr. 
Barber  in  the  City  of  New  York  in  the  year  1816.  He  was  then  Admin- 
istrator of  that  Diocese  sede  mcante,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barber  occupied 
the  situation  of  Principal  of  an  Academy  in  the  upper  part  of  the  State, 
about  15  miles  from  Utica.  It  was  in  one  of  his  visits  to  Kew  Yorli  he 
took  occasion  to  call  upon  the  Rev.  Administrator  and  to  enter  into  con- 
versation with  him  upon  the  subject  of  Religion.  He  was  open  and 
candid  in  his  remarks,  and  seemed  to  manifest  a  sincere  desire  to  know 
the  truth.  The  Rev.  Administrator  was  equally  free  on  his  side,  and 
took  some  pains  to  satisfy  him  in  his  inquiries,  and  to  explain  to 
him  the  real  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church,  satisfied  that  if  he 
could  but  remove  the  prejudices  of  his  education,  he  should  find  but 
little  difficulty  to  convince  him  of  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  religion.  In 
the  course  of  the  conversation  the  Administrator  learned  who  he  was 
and  the  situation  he  held  :  he  became  accordingly  doubly  anxious  to 
gain  him.  After  some  time  spent  in  discussing  various  matters,  the 
Rev.  stranger  manifested  a  desire  to  retire,  but  requested  at  the  same 
time  permission  to  be  allowed  another  interview  at  som.e 'future  day  : 
which  was  readily  assented  to.  The  Administrator  took  the  opportunity 
of  putting  into  his  hands  several  books,  v/hich  he  requested  him  to  read 
in  the  mean  time  ;  and  on  his  return,  should  he  find  any  passage  in 
them  that  wanted  explanation  he  would  with  pleasure  give  it— earnestly 
entreated  him  to  pursue  his  investigation,  assuring  him  that  if  he  was 
sincere  in  it,  of  which  he  did  not  entertain  the  least  doubt,  God  the 
Father  of  light  would  undoubtedly  lead  him  on  to  the  truth ;  and  rec- 
ommended to  him  to  have  frequent  recourse  to  Him  by  prayer.  All 
which  he  promised,  and  took  an  affectionate  leave.  Some  months 
elapsed  before  he  returned,  he  having  shortly  after  set  out  upon  his 
journey  home  where  he  remained  wholly  engrossed  by  the  cares  of  his 
Academy.  That  he  had  in  the  interim  many  debates  with  himself  in 
the  enquiry  he  was  m.aking  and  to  struggle  hard  against  the  power  of 
habit  no  one  can  doubt,  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  human  heart, 
and  the  prodigious  hold  which  habit,  backed  by  strong  prejudice,  takes 

upon  it. 

Mr.  Barber  had,  besides,  many  reasons  of  a  worldly  nature  which 
have  no  small  influence  upon  the  generality  of  mankind  for  remaining 
in  the  religion  in  which  he  then  was.  He  was  the  principal  of  a  flou- 
rishing Academy,  which  bid  fair  in  process  of  time  to  become  a  College, 
agreeably  to  the  law  then  in  force  relative  to  the  establishment  of  col- 
leges; he  was  also  the  Pastor  of  a  congregation,  which  two  officer 


REV.     VIRGIL  n.     BARBER.  05 

secured  liiin  a  handsome  living-.  His  prospects,  especially  in  (lie 
Academy,  had  induced  him  to  make  a  purchase  of  land  immediately  in 
the  neighborhood  which,  thouo-h  not  really  valuable  ;i(  that  time,  would 
become  so  if  he  continued  to  manage  the  Institution  of  which  he  was 
Principal.  Add  to  all  this  the  claims  of  his  wife  and  five  small  children 
upon  him,  whose  support  required  his  active  exertions,  on  the  other 
side,  all  was  dark  and  uncertain  as  to  his  life.  "  If  he  embraced  what 
he  deemed  to  be  the  true  religion,  he  would  certainly  lose  his  present 
situation  as  well  in  the  Academy  as  in  the  church,  and  what  would  he 
obtain  as  an  equivalent  ?  Nothing  certain.  Not  even  had  a  promise 
of  anything  been  made  to  him.  Should  he  then  go  and  lose  by  the  step 
he  was  taking,  a  certainty  for  an  uncertainty,  and  expose  his  wife  and 
children  to  beggary  and  want !  Human  and  worldly  prudence  natu- 
rally forbid  it.  He  was  yet  not  ciuite  sure  that  the  Catholic  Church 
was  the  only  true  church,  although  everything  as  far  as  he  had  yet  gone 
into  the  investigation,  seemed  to  allow  it ;  yet  it  might  not  be — other 
churches  might  also  be  true  churches,  and  among  tliese  his  own.  Why, 
therefore,  should  he  go  by  a  precipitate  step  and  jeopardize  his  family  ! 
Could  he  not  remain  as  he  was  until  he  should  at  least  realize  a  suffi- 
ciency for  the  support  and  education  of  his  children  ?  And  if  hereafter 
he  should  be  perfectly  convinced,  after  a  full  investigation,  that  the 
Catholic  Church  is  the  only  true  church,  wdiy  he  could  then  embrace  it 
without  hazarding  his  worldly  prospects  !"  This  and  such  like  might 
have  been  the  train  of  his  thoughts  during  this  interval,  and  upon  ten 
thousand  individuals  they  might  have  had  their  influence,  wdiom,  if 
they  did  not  wholly  withdraw  from  the  enquiry,  might  at  least  have 
had  the  effect  to  interrupt  and  postpone  it.  But  Mr.  Barber  was  not  ro 
easily  to  be  turned  aside.  He  had  read  and  learned  enough  to  know 
that  the  religion  of  which  he  was  a  minister  was  not  a  sure  one  to  arrive 
at  heaven — he  had  read  and  learned  enough  to  have  the  strongest  doubts 
of  its  truth.  This  was  enough  for  him,  who,  in  sincerity  sought  the 
truth,  to  persevere  and  not  to  stop  until  he  should  find  it,  and  having 
found  it,  to  embrace  it,  whatever  might  be  the  consequence  to  his 
worldly  prospects.  He  accordingly  took  another  journey  to  New  York. 
The  Administrator  recognized  him  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  room,  greet- 
ed him  in  the  most  cordial  manner,  and  enquired  affectionately  into  the 
state  of  his  health  and  that  of  his  family.  After  a  few  moments  desul- 
tory conversation,  the  former  subject  was  renewed  and  much  ground 
in  religious  controversy  w^as  travelled  over  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours. 
Mr.  Barber  in  the  course  of  the  conversation  admitted  that  the  Protest- 
ant faith  could  not  be  defended,  and  seemed  greatly  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 
The  situation  of  his  family  seemed  to  rush  upon  his  mind,  and  the 

awkward  predicament  in  which  they  would  be  placed.     "  Trust,"  said 

5 


66  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

the  Administrator,  guessing  at  what  passed  within  him,  "trust  your 
affairs  to  the  management  of  a  heuiScent  Providence.  Embrace  the 
truth,  now  that  you  liave  found  it,  and  leave  the  rest  to  God.  Ke  has 
led  3"0u  on  to  make  this  enquiry,  he  has  followed  you  step  by  step  ;  and 
now  that  you  yield  to  his  grace  he  will  abandon  you  ?  Xo,  believe  me, 
you  were  never  more  secure  of  subsistence."' 

"  '\Vhat  shall  I  then  do  ?"  he  replied.  ''  First  embrace  the  Catho- 
lic religion,"  said  the  Administrator,  "  then  go  back  to  your  Academy, 
resign  your  situation  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  settle  your  affairs  as  seen 
as  you  conveniently  can,  and  ccme  to  Kevv^  York,  I  shall  in  the  mean 
time  use  my  best  endeavors  to  procure  you  scholars  ;  so  that  as  soon  as 
you  arrive  you  may  open  a  new  school,  which  shortly  I  hope  to  sec  as 
flourishing  as  was  the  one  you  forsake."  "  Well,  I  submit,"  vras  the 
generous  answer  returned.  "I  am  ready  to  give  in  m_y  recantation 
whenever  you  may  deem  tit,  and  to  do  vvhatever  else  you  shall  pre- 
scribe." A  few  days  after,  he  made  his  recantation,  read  the  profession 
of  Catholic  faith,  was  baptized  (sub  conditione),  made  his  confession, 
and  was  regularly  received  by  the  Administrator  into  the  communion 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Upon  this,  he  immediately  returned  heme 
where  he  set  about  arranuing  his  affairs — informed  hisccnoreiration  of 
the  change  he  had  undergone  since  he  saw  them  last,  and  bid  them  a 
tinal  adieu.  As  he  had  loEg  anticipated,  so  it  happened.  His  parish- 
ioners all,  to  a  man,  turned  against  him  ;  soon  deprived  him,  by  their 
interference,  of  the  situation  he  held  in  the  school ;  and  finally  conclu- 
ded their  persecution  by  forcing  the  sale  of  the. land  he  had  some  time 
before  purchased,  but  for  Avhicli  he  had  not  entirely  paid,  and  v.hich 
in  consec]uence  was  sold  to  great  disadvantage. 

Not  long  after  this  proceeding  the  Administrator  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Barber  in  which  he  acquainted  him  with  what  had  passed 
since  his  return  home,  and  informed  him  cf  the  arrangement  he  had 
made  and  of  his  determination  to  leave  the  country  and  accept  cf  his 
invitation  to  Xew  York  The  Administrator  lest  no  time  in  replying 
to  his  letter,  and  telling  him  that  all  was  ready  for  him — that  a  house 
w.'is  procured  in  a  central  situation — that  scholars  were  premised,  and 
what  bid  fair  to  be  of  considerable  service  to  him,  that  the  gocd  feel- 
ings of  the  Catholics  were  all  enlisted  in  his  favor.  ]\Ir.  Barber  shortly 
after  arrives,  bringing  with  him  his  wife  and  interesting  little  children, 
five  in  number,  one  boy  and  four  girls.  The  Administrator  receives 
them  with  open  arms,  causes  them  to  remain  in  his  own  house  until  he 
had  seen  all  things  in  order,  as  far  as  circumstances  would  allow,  in 
their  future  abode.  He  considered  that  as  one  of  the  happiest  days  in 
his  life,  in  which  he  had  received  and  entertained  these  martyrs  of  the 
faith. 


JREV.     VIRGIL    II     BAIUJEB.  67 

]\Ir.  Barber  having  moved  iDto  his  new  house,  immediately  opened 
school,  Avhen  a  number  of  children,  some  of  whom  were  of  the  most  re- 
spectable families,  flocked  to  him  for  instruction,  Xcr  did  he  neglect 
in  the  mean  time  to  prosecute  his  studies  in  religion.  He  was  well 
aware  that  though  he  was  now  a  Catholic,  yet  he  had  much  to  learn 
before  he  should  be  fully  acquainted  with  all  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  tlic  Church.  His  first  care  was  to  bring  over  Lis  good  lady  into 
that  way  which  he  now  knew  to  be  the  true  one,  and  to  cause  all  his 
children  to  be  baptized  like  himself  sub  conditions.  It  was  not  long 
when  Mrs.  Barber  likewise  offered  herself  to  be  received  into  the  com- 
munion of  the  Church.  Naturally  pious,  she  had  offered  little  or  no 
resistance  to  the  abundance  of  divine  grace.  It  was  now  truly  an  envi- 
able family,  and  Almighty  God  seemed  to  delight  in  blessing  them  in 
every  particular. 

For  some  time  things  continued  in  this  state,  the  school  progressing 
and  receiving  daily  an  accession  of  scholars,  from  the  high  opinion  pa- 
rents began  to  entertain  of  the  talents  of  the  teacher  and  his  experience 
in  the  art  of  instructing.  His  attention,  however,  was  not  v>'holly  di- 
rected to  his  school :  his  leisure  hours  were  taken  up  in  studying  and 
instructing  himself  in  the  science  of  the  Saints.  He  had  scarcely  made, 
together  with  his  good  lady,  his  first  communion  ^^  hen  he  began  to  as- 
pire to  a  very  high  degree  of  perfection,  viz  :  that  of  devoting  and  con- 
secrating himself  entirely  to  the  service  of  God.  He  thought  the  Al- 
mighty had  a  further  claim  upon  him,  for  having,  through  his  very 
great  mercy,  brought  him  to  the  knowledge  of  himself  and  his  true 
church,  and  required  something  more  of  him  than  to  edify  simply  his 
neighbor  in  the  state  of  a  layman.  He  was  aware  that  great  obstacles 
lay  in  his  way  which  seemed  to  forbid  him  even  to  entertain  a  thought 
of  the  kind  :  but  then  he  knew  also  that  hn  who  inspired  him  v/ith  the 
thought  could,  (if  such  were  indeed  his  holy  will)  easily  remove  these 
seeming  obstacles  and  enable  him  to  accomplish  the  object.  Before  he 
opened  the  subject  to  any  one  he  spoke  with  his  wife  and  consulted  her 
thereupon.  God  had  already  prepared  her  by  his  holy  grace.  The 
reading  of  the  Lives  of  the  Saints  and  the  heroic  examples  of  so  many 
blessed  servants  of  God  in  all  ages  had  already  filled  her  with  a  noble 
ardour  to  emulate  their  virtues.  She  readily  assents  to  all,  and  is 
equally  anxious  to  carry  into  effect  so  laudable  a  design,  if  prudently 
practicable,  "  She  knows  not  whether  such  a  thing  is  allowed  in  the 
Catholic  church  as  the  separation  of  man  and  wife  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  the  former  to  enter  into  orders  She  takes  the  first  opportu- 
nity to  consult  the  Administrator  on  the  subject,  assuring  him  at  the 
same  time  "  that  if  the  matter  can  be  accomplished  with  justice  to  the 
children,  she  is  every  way  desirous  of  it."      The  Administrator  is  per- 


68  CATnOLIG    MEMOIRS. 

fectly  astonished — he  knows  not  how  to  view  the  matter,  or  in  what 
light  to  consider  it.  Upou  her  pressing  him  to  say  "whether  he  knew 
or  had  read  any  example  of  the  kind  in  the  church,  or  whether  the 
Church  approved  of  such  acts  of  consecration  to  God  ?"  he  replied  in 
the  affirmative,  stating  that  he  had  read  of  several  instances  of  the  kind 
and  especially  of  Lord  and  Lady  Warner,  two  distinguished  persons  in 
England,  of  whom  both  had  been  brought  up  Protestants,  but  who 
afterwards  were  converted  to  the  Catholic  faith  ;  and  afterw\ards,  by 
mutual  consent,  were  separated,  when  the  husband  studied  and  became 
a  priest  in  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  the  wife  took  the  veil  in  a  convent 
on  the  continent.  They  had,  moreover,  two  young  daughters  to  be 
provided  for  ;  but  these,  previous  to  their  separation,  they  had  placed 
for  their  education  in  a  convent  in  the  Low  Countries,  appointing  pro- 
per guardians  and  giving  up  their  whole  estate  to  them  as  scon  as  they 
should  come  of  age,  or  in  case  they  should  not,  like  their  pious  parents, 
have  a  call  from  God  and  take  to  religion.  But  the  Almighty  so  dis- 
posed matters  that  they  both  took  the  veil  and  entered  into  a  convent 
at  Dunkirk.  The  Administrator  informed  her  furthermcre  that  the 
Church  never  prevented  married  persons  consecrating  themselves  to 
God  in  holy  religion,  if  it  were  done  with  mutual  consent,  and  if  proper 
provision  were  made  for  their  children  and  they  should  be  well  taken 
care  of,  in  case  God  had  blessed  them  with  any.  But  for  the  present 
he  dissuaded  her  from  thinking  of  the  matter,  principally  on  account 
of  her  children,  who  had  no  other  means  of  support  than  their  parents, 
and  who,  if  a  separation  were  novr  to  take  place,  wculd  necessarily 
suffer  ;  and  therefore  a  separation  under  such  circumstances,  no  m.atter 
for  how  laudable  a  motive,  would  in  no  manner  be  justified." 

In  consequence  of  the,  arrival  of  the  new  Bishop  of  New  York, 
(Dr.  Connelly)  shortly  after  this,  the  Administrator  was  recalled  to 
Georgetown  College  to  take  upon  him  the  direction  of  that  institution. 
On  his  departure,  which  took  place  after  the  Easter  Holidays,  he  rec- 
ommended in  the  strongest  terms  Mr.  Barber  and  family  to  the  worthy 
Bishop,  beseeching  him  to  have  an  eye  to  them  and  not  to  suffer  them 
in  any  manner  to  be  neglected.  The  Administrator,  obliged  to  obey 
the  call  of  his  Superior,  regretted  nothing  so  much  on  leaving  a  City 
where  he  had  lived  the  last  ten  years  and  which  had  been  his  first  mis- 
sion after  ordination,  as  his  being  compelled  to  desert  a  family  whose 
welfare  he  had  so  much  at  heart,  and  whose  interests  he  was  afraid 
would  not  now  be  attended  to.  A  perfect  stranger  in  the  place,  under 
a  Bishop  who  was  equally  so,  without  a  friend  and  with  a  growing 
family,  without  resources  and  with  many  calls,  having  nothing  to  de- 
pend upon  but  his  school  which,  in  a  City  like  Xew  York  is  so  preca- 
rious a  thing,  the  Administrator  felt  greatly  for  him.     He  had  it  no 


REV     VIRGIL    IT.     BARBER.  69 

longer  in  his  power,  as  he  tliouglit,  to  do  anything  for  them  ;  he  could 
therefore  only  recommend  them  to  God  and  to  him  whom  he  had  estab- 
lished in  his  place  the  father  and  protector  of  the  poor.  But  tlie  Al- 
mighty had  Resources  which  the  Administrator  knew  nothing  of,  and 
ways  and  means  too  of  af:sisting  them,  which  he  could  not  forsee.  IIow 
admirable  is  the  Providence  of  God  !  and  hoAv  wisel}^  does  lie  dispose 
all  things  to  bring  about  the  object  he  has  in  view  !  Had  the  Admin- 
istrator been  suffered  to  continue  in  New  York,  in  all  probability  ]\Ir. 
Barber  would  have  continued  there  also  ;  and  had  he  not  been  recalled 
by  his  Superior  to  Georgetown,  he  never  could  have  found  the  means 
of  providing  for  and  educating  the  children  of  that  worthy  man,  and 
thereby  furthering  the  plan  he  had,  in  common  with  his  virtuous  and 
amiable  wife,  so  dear  at  heart.  But  by  his  recall  all  was  accomplished. 
But  a  few  weeks  had  elapsed  after  the  departure  of  the  Adminis- 
trator (for  so  he  is  still  to  be  called,  though  no  longer  administrator, 
merely  for  the  sake  of  the  narration)  and  his  arrival  at  the  College, 
w^hen  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Barber  recalling  his  attention  to  the 
former  subject  of  conversation,  and  enquiring  whether  something 
might  not  be  done  for  him  there.  The  Administrator  held  as  yet  no 
situation  or  office  in  the  college,  but  he  possessed  some  influence  with  its 
then  President,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grassi,  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  America, 
as  well  as  with  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Dr.  Neale,  who  at  that 
time  resided  at  the  Visitation  Convent  in  Georgetown.  Knowing  the 
ardent  desire  which  both  Mr.  Barber  and  his  good  lady  had  to  conse- 
crate themselves  to  God  in  holy  religion,  and  aware  of  the  obstacle  in 
their  way  by  their  having  five  small  children  to  provide  for,  and  will- 
ing to  serve  him  to  the  best  of  his  power,  he  began  to  reflect  and  con- 
sider how  to  dispose  of  these  helpless  children  ;  and  whether  some 
arrangement  might  not  be  made  in  their  behalf,  so  as  to  leave  their 
parents  quite  unincumbered.  With  this  view  he  first  called  upon  the 
President  of  the  College  and  laid  open  to  him  the  whole  business,  stat- 
ing the  situation  of  Mr.  Barber  and  that  of  his  family,  his  conversion 
as  well  as  the  conversion  of  his  wife,  and  their  extreme  desire  to  separ- 
ate for  the  sole  purpose  of  entering  religion,  etc.  That  above  all  things 
he  wished  to  be  united  to  the  Society  of  Jesus  of  which  he  had  heard 
and  read  so  much,  and  v/hose  holy  institute  he  admired  ;  and  pressed 
him  in  the  most  earnest  manner  to  favor  his  design  by  admitting  him 
as  a  novice  and  his  little  son,  then  about  six  years  old,  or  perhaps  not 
so  much,  as  a  pupil,  into  the  college,  to  remain  until  completely  edu- 
cated. The  Reverend  Superior,  struck  at  the  heroism  of  Mr.  Barber 
and  the  gracious  sacrifice  he  proposed  to  make  of  himself  to  God,  and 
wishing  at  the  same  time  to  exhibit  so  striking  an  instance  of  the  power 
of  divine  grace,  to  a  wicked  world,  instantly  consented  and  authorized  the 


•70  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

xidministrator  to  make  the  same  known  to  him  as  soon  as  convenient. 
Having  succeeded  thus  far  lie  next  proceeded  to  the  Convent  of  the 
Visitation  to  confer  with  his  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  about  Mrs.  Barber 
and  her  other  chiklren,  viz  :  the  four  remaining  daughters.     Here  he 
expected  quite  an  unfavorable  answer  ;  but  slill  he  trusted  in  God. 
The  convent  had  been  but  just  established— its  number  was,  however, 
great  and  its  income  i-mall— scarcely  suthcient  to  support  those  already 
admitted.      Besides  the  number  he  intended  to  petition  for,  was  too 
great,  even  were  the  convent  in  far  better  circumstances,  viz  :  a  mother 
and  her  four  children.    But  no  matter,  he  resolved  to  try,  and  to  perse- 
vere.   He  accordingly  entered  the  Bishop's  apartment  and  immediately 
introduced  the  subject.  He  spoke  of  the  great  charity  he  would  confer 
by  receiving  them  into  the  convent  and  how  likely  such  a  step  would 
draw  a  blessing  upon  an  infant  institution— expatiated  a  good  deal 
upon  the  merits  of  Mrs.  Barber,  her  piety,  her  desire  of  perfection,  her 
talents  and  acquirem.ents,  and  how  useful  she  might  prove  in  an  estab- 
lishment where  the  object  wr.s  in  a  great  measure  to  educate  female 
children.   The  Administrator  f  nally  concluded  with  assuring  him  that 
he  entertained  no  doubt  that  God  would  hereafter  amply  compensate 
for  any  expenses  the  house  might  incur  on  their  account.     The  Arch- 
bishop during  the  whole  time  seemed  to  listen  with  much  attention. 
On  the  one  side,  his  benevolent  disposition  inclined  him  to  offer  her 
the  Convent,  on  the  other  his  prudence  dissuaded  him  from  it.     The 
absolute  want  of  funds  on  her  part  to  defray  any  part  of  the  expenses 
of  the  children  appeared  to  w^eigh  very  much  upon  him.      He  wished 
not  to  impose  a  heavier  burden  upon  the  good  ladies  of  the  Convent 
than  they  could  conveniently  bear.      "  Really,  "  he  said  at  length,  "  I 
am  much  at  a  loss  what  to  do  in  this  matter.    I  fear  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble to  admit  her,  not  precisely  herself,  for  we  might  compass  that  ; 
but  her  children,  what  should  we  do  with  them  ?  "     "Educate  them," 
replied  the  Administrator.     ' '  Ay  "  immediately  answered  the  Arch- 
bishop, "  that  is  easily  enough  said.  But  who  is  to  support  them  in  the 
mean  time  and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  their  education  ?  "    Dcus  pro- 
videbit.      The  widow  of  Sarephta  was  but  in  indifferent  circum.stanccs 
when  the  prophet  Elia  called  upon  her  for  a  little  bread— scarcely  had 
fjhc  a  handful  of  meal  at  the  time  ;  yet  she  made  him,  at  his  request,  a 
cake  of  that  meal  ;  and  the  consi'quence  was  a  great  blessing  upon  her  ; 
for  from  that  day,  says  the  Scripture,  the  pot  of  meal  wasted  not,  in  her 
house.  "  And  will  God,  thanks  your  Grace,  continued  the  Administra- 
tor, bless  less  the  charity  bestowed  by  the  children  of  his  own  election, 
than  he  did  that  bestowed  by  an  infidel  Avoman  ?  "  "Well,  well,  well," 
answered  hastily  the  xVrchbishop,  "  be  it  so,  be  it  so  ;  we  shall  see,  we 
shall  see.    But  I  cannot  consent  to  take  the  infant  she  has  at  her  breast, 


REV.     VI ROIL    11.     BARBER.  71 

(the  Administratcr  liad  given  him  in  the  course  of  conversation,  the  age 
as  nearly  as  he  could  recollect  of  each  of  the  children)  what  should  v,e 
do  with  that  ?  "  "  As  to  that,  "  replied  the  Administrator,  "  the  dear 
little  creature  shall  not  want  a  home  when  the  others  are  provided  for. 
My  mother  shall  take  charge  of  her,  and  shall  nurse  her  as  if  she  were 
her  own.  But  at  a  proper  age  your  Grace  will  receive  her  too  into  the 
school  of  the  Convent.  "  "  Very  well,  "  he  replied.  .  Thus  was  this 
important  matter  settled,  greatly  to  the  joy  of  the  Administrator  as  well 
as  to  the  credit  of  the  Archbishop  and  the  Superior. 

The  Administrator  immediately  gave  information  of  what  had 
passed  to  Mr.  Barber  ;  and  invited  him  to  lose  no  time  in  coming  on. 
Accordingly  in  a  few^  WTeks  after,  he  arrived  with  his  whole  family — 
was  received  in  the  college  hall  by  the  Tvcv.  Mr.  Grassi,  the  Superior, 
by  the  professors  and  by  the  Administrator  w-ho  all  exprer.sod  the  live- 
liest joy  upon  the  occasion.  After  some  days  rest  from  the  fatigue  of 
their  journey  the  pious  couple  were  taken  to  the  college  chapel  where 
the  Archbishop  in  the  presence  of  a  number  of  individuals,  both  clergy 
and  secular,  pronounced  the  divorce,  having  lirst  ascertained  of  them- 
selves individually  their  full  consent  thereto.  He  gave  an  eloquent 
Admonition  on  the  occasion  which  drew  tears  from  the  eyes  of  many 
who  WTre  present ;  and  concluded  by  recommending  them  to  continue 
faithful  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  and  to  persevere  in  that  perfect  path  he 
had  traced  out  to  them.  They  were  then  dismissed.  Mr.  Barber  vras 
conducted  to  the  room  which  had  been  prepared  for  him  ;  his  little  son 
was  taken  into  the  college  ;  Mrs.  Barber  with  three  of  her  daughters 
were  conducted  to  the  Visitation  Convent  and  little  Josephine  was  cor- 
dially received  by  the  Administrator's  mother. 

In  the  course  of  afev/  months  the  Rev.  Mr,  Grassi  having  occa- 
sion to  go  to  Italy,  resigned  his  situation  in  the  college  in  favor  cf 
the  Administrator,  It  was  determined  in  council  that  Mr.  Barber  with 
three  of  the  more  promising  Scholastics  should  accompany  him,  in 
order  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  Catholic  countries, 
and  especially  Rome  ;  and  that  they  might  complete  their  education  in 
the  Jesuit  College  there.  In  a  short  time  they  set  sail  and  after  a  pros- 
perous navigation,  all  reached  Italy  in  safety.  They  immediately  re- 
paired to  Rome,  where  they  were  received  in  the  most  friendly  manner 
by  the  Jesuits  and  not  less  kindly  by  the  then  Sovereign  Pontiff  Pius 
VII,  of  happy  memory,  to  whom  they  were  presented  by  one  of  the 
Fathers. 

Mr.  Barber,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  a  year,  during  which  time 
he  principally  lodged  at  the  Jesuit  College  at  Rome,  returned  to  this 
country,  and  commenced  his  studies  in  theology  at  the  college  in  George- 
town, which  he  prosecuted  with  ardour  until  December,  1822,  when  he 


72  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

was  sent  by  his  Superior  (for  be  was  already  admitted  to  liis  vows  and 
received  into  the  ccciety)  to  Boston,  where  he  was  ordained  priest  on 
the  feast  of  St.  Francis-Xaverius  by  the  Administrator's  worthy  prede- 
cessor (Dr.  Cheverus*).  Mis,  Barber  had  some  lime  before  this,  taken 
the  veil  in  the  Visitation  Convent  at  Georgetown  ;  where  she  still  con- 
tinues an  example  of  patience,  cf  humility,  of  obedience  and  of  every 
religious  virtue,  enjoying  the  happiness  of  seeing  all  her  daughters 
(little  Josephine  included)  successively  improving  in  virtue,  knowledge 
and  every  polite  accomplishment. 

The  conversion  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barber  (for  so  he  must  now  be 
styled)  was  not  without  producing  in  a  very  short  time  the  happiest  re- 
sults. It  led  the  way  to  that  of  his  aged  father  who  officiated  as  an 
Episcopal  clergyman  in  the  town  of  Claremont,  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  of  very  many  others  as  well  of  strangers  as  of  his  own  kin- 
dred. His  father,  Daniel  Barber,  was  among  the  first,  after  he  heard 
of  his  son's  conversion,  to  enquire.  He  took  a  journey  to  Georgetown, 
and  there  became  scon  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  religion. 
He  continued  some  time  in  Washington  to  learn  and  to  strengthen  him- 
self in  the  faith  ;  and  afterwards  returned  to  Claremont,  where  he 
formally  renounced  the  errors  he  had  embraced,  in  the  church,  where 
he  had  so  long  presided  as  pastor,    a. 

The  Kev.  Virgil  Barber  after  receiving  ordination  as  above  men- 
tioned, by  the  hands  of  Bishop  Chevcrus  immediately  repaired  to 
Claremont  with  the  approbation  cf  the  Superior  and  began  to  labour 
towards  the  conversion  of  the  Protestants  in  and  about  that  neighbor- 
hood. With  the  aid  of  his  father  and  the  charitable  contributions  of 
the  clergy  and  laity  in  Canada  he  laid  the  foundation  and  soon  raised 
the  neat  little  church  which  now  distinguishes  that  section  of  the 
countrv.  h.  In  order  to  secure  a  sulsistence  without  being  a  burden 
to  his  little  flock  he  opened  a  classical  school  which  scon  attracted  a 
number  from  different  parts.  Thus  did  the  Vvxrk  progress  by  degrees. 
And  the  Lord  increased,  dally  ioreihtr  such  as  shoidd  he  saved.  The  faith 
has  taken  deep  root  ;  and  it  is  now  a  growing  congregation  v.hich  in 
process  of  time,  with  the  continued  exertions  of  its  excellent  pastor  bids 
fair  to  become  not  less  numerous  than  respectable.  The  Bishop  at  his 
visitation  was  iiighly  gratified  with  the  fervour  and  zeal  displayed  by 
all,  and  hopes  much  from  influence  of  their  edifying  example  upon 
others. 


*     Kev.  B.  Fenwick,  ox-Administrator  of  New  York,  succeeded  Bishop  Chevcrus  in 
the  See  of  Bost  )d. 

a.  We  consider  it  more  probable  that  Daniel  Barber  was  received  into  the  church  at 
Georgeiown,  before  returning  to  Claremont. 

b.  It  continued  to  be  used  as  the  Tariieh  Church  till  1806. 


BEV.     VIRGIL    n.    BARBER.  r6 

The  following  additional  details  connected  with  the  conversion  of 
Father  Virgil  Barbor  will  be  read  with  much  interest.  When  this  zeal- 
ous convert  came  to  Canada  in  order  to  obtain  help  towards  building  a 
church  in  Claremont,  he  said  in  substance  to  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
Cook  of  Three  Rivers.     (He  was  then  Parish  P.  of  Three  Rivers,    a): 

"I  had  in  my  house,"  said  Rev.  Y.  Barber,  ''a  ,^ood  Catholic 
Irish  servant  girl,  whom  I  often  noticed  using  a  certain  prayer  book.  I 
was  then  a  Protestant  minister,  but  I  w\as  sincere.  A  happy  curiosity 
which  was  undoubtedly  an  eifect  of  divine  grace,  made  me  open  and 
examine  that  little  book  which  proved  to  be  a  Novena  io  St.  Francis- 
Xaiiiv.  I  was  very  much  impressed  with  the  abridgment  of  the  life  of 
the  Saint  which  was  contained  therein,  and  I  thought  I  must  try  and 
get  a  complete  life  of  that  w^ondcrful  missionar3\  I  acted  upon  this 
idea,  and  after  carefully  reading  that  life  so  remarkable,  I  had  to  say 
to  myself  :  Behold  a  man  .who  lived  at  the  very  time  of  the  Protestant 
reformation  ; "-'  one  therefore  who  lived  so  near  our  own  times  that  his 
existence  cannot  be  a  myth.  This  life  being  so  remarkable  must  have 
excited  the  attention  of  the  learned,  as  soon  as  it  came  out  in  print,  and 
was  scattered  everywhere.  No  one  has  contradicted  it,  and  this  would 
surely  have  been  done,  had  the  history  of  St.  Francis-Xavier  been 
untrue.  It  has  moreover  all  the  marks  of  authenticity  and  veracity 
which  can  be  desired.  How^  could  a  religion  which  forms  such  men, 
be  a  mere  humin  institution  ?  Peace  then  departed  my  soul.  I  had 
doubts  concerning  the  truth  of  my  Protestant  faith.  I  began  to  study 
very  seriously,  and  the  more  I  studied  the  more  my  doubts  increased. 
These  doubts  I  submitted  to  my  Bishop  ( Dr.  Hobart )  hoping  thereby 
to  find  peace  ;  but  he  gave  me  no  light  on  the  subject,  and  rather 
strengthened  my  doubts,  as  he  paid  no  serious  attention  to  my  objec- 
tions. We  were  at  this  time  standing  at  the  window  of  a  room  whence 
we  could  hear  the  singing  going  on  in  a  Catholic  church  near  by.  I 
tcok  occasion  to  ask  the  Bishop  :  '  Do  you  think  that  those  can  be 
saved  ? '  At  this  question  of  mine  he  could  not  help  smiling,  and  an- 
swered, '  They  have  the  old  religion.  Don't  you  know  ?  But  they  do 
too  much,  and  one  can  bo  saved  without  so  much  trouble.  Do  not 
trouble  yourself  about  such  matters.  Go  back  home  in  peace,  and  if 
you  chose  to  do  so,  consult  your  brother  ministers,  and  your  religious 
scruples  will  soon  vanish  away.'  I  returned  home  from  that  interview 
more  disquieted  than  I  was  before.  I  put  down  on  paper  my  objec- 
tions against  the  Protectant  religion  in  the  shape  of  fourteen  questions 
and  invited  many  ministers  of  the  Episcopal  church  to  come  and  visit 

a.     Kindly  communicated   to   tlie   compiler  bj-   Very   Eev.    Father  Caron   cf  Three 
Elvers. 


74  CATHOLIC    MEJI0IU8. 

me.  To  each  of  tliera  as  they  came  in,  I  presented  this  terrible  sheet 
of  paper.  They  all  glanced  at  the  questions,  and  none  failed  to  say  : 
"  Well,  vrcll,  we  will  see  after  tea,  "  but  after  tea  music  was  had  at  the 
piano,  and  as  no  one  attempted  to  answer  the  questions,  I  then  resolved 
to  see  and  consult  the  Bishop  of  Boston.  "  (That  is  Father  Benedict 
Fenwick  of  New  York,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Boston). 


In  the  biography  of  Mistress  Virgil  Barber  the  reader  will  find 
more  information  about  the  interviews  of  Rev.  Virgil  Barber  and  some 
Episcopal  ministers. 

In  the  sketches  of  the  establishment  of  the  church  in  New  England 
by  Father  Fitton,  we  read,  p.  283  :  "  The  conversion  of  Rev.  Father 
Barber  was  not  without  producing  the  happiest  results  otherwise,  as  it 
lay  the  way  to  the  conversion  of  Rev.  Dr.  Keeley,  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man, and  rector  of  St.  George's  Chapel,  New  York,  and  of  George 
Ironside,  also  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  of  Rev.  Calvin 
White  of  Connecticut,  and  others.  " 

The  following  entries  in  Bishop  Fenwick's  Memoranda  gives  us 
some  information  about  Rev.  V.  Barber,  and  show  the  interest  he  en- 
tertained towards  him  and  his  family  : 

Nov.  23,  1820.  "  The  Rev.  Virgil  H.  Barber  arrives  (at  Boston). 
The  Bishop  prevails  on  him  to  visit  those  pa^ts  of  the  Diocese  which 
are  destitute  of  pastors,  viz  :  Dover,  Bangor,  Eastport  and  such  other 
parts  in  that  direction,  as  have  any  considerable  number  of  Catholics. 
He  particularly  recommends  to  him  the  two  tribes  of  Indians  in  Maine. 
He  hopes  this  journey,  undertaken  by  that  pious  and  zealous  clergy- 
man, will  produce  the  happiest  effect,  by  affording  the  scattered  Catho- 
lics an  opportunity  of  receiving  the  Sacraments,  and  thus  preparing 
them  for  the  grace  of  confirmation,  which  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
Bishop  to  confer  next  summer  in  his  visit  through  the  same  places." 

(Bp.  F.,  M). 

December  11th,  182G.  "The  Rev.  V.  Barber  returns  from  his 
mission  and  gives  the  most  flattering  account  of  his  reception  every- 
where by  persons  of  other  denominations,  and  of  his  success  among  the 
Catholics,  dwells  particularly  on  tlie  favorable  prospects  at  Dover  and 
the  great  desire  of  all  classes  to  have  a  Catholic  church  erected  there. 
He  is  of  opinion  that  the  object  can  b3  effected,  and  that  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  is  already  subscribed  towards  it,  and  when  this  is  ac- 
complished the  means  of  supporting  a  priest  will  be  amply  sufficient. 
He  speaks  too  of  the  great  piety  that  prevails  amongst  the  Indians  of 
both  tribes,  and  laments  that  there  is  yet  no  priest  among  them .  " 
(Bp.  F.,  Memoranda). 


MBV.     VIRGIL    77.     BARBER.  75 

182G.  Among  the  events  occurring  during  this  ycr>r  Bishop  Fen- 
wick  mentions  :  "  The  admission  of  Miss  Mary  Barber,  eldest  daugh- 
ter to  the  Rev.  V.  H.  Barber,  into  the  Noviciate  among  the  Ursiilines 
in  their  new  establishment.  Her  sister  Abby,  who  came  Avilh  her  from 
the  Visitation  last  spring,  after  a  short  delay  in  Boston,  continued  on  to 
Quebec,  where  she  arrived  in  safety,  and  where  she  also  "is  received  as 
a  novice  in  another  convent  of  the  Ursulines.  Thus  has  a  part  of  the 
family  of  this  worthy  couple  already  commenced  to  walk  in  the  foot 
steps  of  their  pious  parents,  and  every  appearance  exists  that  their  ex- 
ample will  produce  a  similar  effect  upon  the  remaining  younger  ones, 
when  they  shall  have  obtained  an  age  to  judge  and  decide  for  them- 
selves. "    (Bp.  F.,  Mem). 

"  Miss and  Susan  Barber,  third  daughter  of  Rev.  V.  II.  Bar- 

bsr,  are  admitted  as  candidates  for  the  veil  in  the  Ursuline  Convent 
during  the  past  year.  "     (B.  F.,  Mem). 

Shortly  after  Father  Barber's  return  from  his  mission  in  Maine  on 
'Jan.  12th,  1837,  ''The  Bishop  receives  a  letter  from  the  Superior  of 
the  Order  of  Jesuits  at  Georgetown,  D.  C,  informing  him  that  he  has 
recalled  the  Rev.  Virgil  II.  Barber  from  his  mission  at  Claremont,  to 
the  College  of  Georgetown  and  has  directed  him  to  lock  up  his  church 
at  the  above  mentioned  place,  until  another  pastor  is  sent  by  the  Bishop. 
The  Bishop  is  seriously  grieved  to  hear  this  news,  especially,  as  he  has 
at  present  no  one  to  send  in  his  place,  and  the  rising  congregation 
there  will  be  for  a  time  left  destitute.  " 

On  Feb  21st.  "  Reverend  Virgil  II.  Barber  arrives  in  town,  in 
pursuance  of  the  orders  of  his  Superior  at  Georgetown,  on  his  way 
thither.  He  delivers  the  keys  of  his  church  at  Claremont  to  the  Bishop, 
and  acquaints  him  with  the  present  state  of  things  there.  The  Bishop 
regrets  very  much  the  loss  of  this  active  missionary  to  his  diocese,  the 
more  as  he  has  at  present  no  one  to  substitute  in  his  place.  The  little 
church  at  Claremont  will  accordingly  have  to  remain  without  a  resi- 
dent pastor,  till  another  can  be  provided.  " 

Reverend  Virgil  Barber  left  Boston  for  Georgetown  agreeably  to 
the  order  of  his  Superiors  a  week  after  his  arrival  in  the  former  city. 
The  Bishop,  however,  had  already  written  to  the  Superior  at  George- 
town soliciting  him  to  leave  Rev.  Mr.  Barber  in  his  diocese  for  a  some- 
what longer  time,  and  expressed  a  hope  to  obtain  him  yet  of  the  Supe- 
rior of  the  Jesuits  for  the  Indian  missions  in  Maine.  The  request  of 
the  zealous  Bishop  was  granted.  The  Superior  at  Georgetown  was 
kind  enough  to  allovv"  Rev.  Mr.  Barber  to  continue  in  his  diocese,  and 
to  become  missionary  among  the  Indians  in  the  State  of  Maine. 

The  stay  of  Rev.  Virgil  Barber  in  Georgetown  was  very  short.  On 
the  25th  of  May,  which  v/as  Pantecost  Sunday,  the  fervent  religious 


76  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

missionary  was  back  in  Boston,  celebrated  High  Mass  at  the  Cathedral, 
and  in  afternoon  of  the  same  day  preached,  "  and  in  the  course  of  his 
instruction  delivered  some  pretty  remarks  to  the  children  who  were 
confirmed  in  the  forenoon."  On  the  next  day  at  3  P.  M.,  the  Rev.  Virgil 
Barber  ' '  sets  off  in  a  steamboat  to  Portland  on  his  way  to  his  mission 
among  the  Penobscot  and  Passamaquoddy  tribes  of  Indians.  "  Bishop 
Fenwick  here  exclaims  :     "  May  heaven  bless  his  endeavours  !  " 

Rev.  James  Fitton  was  appointed  as  assistant  to  Father  Barber,  the 
now  missionary  of  the  Penobscot  and  Passamaquoddy  tribes  of  Indians, 
Father  Barber  residing  at  Indian  Old  Town  on  the  Penobscot,  and 
Father  Fitton  at  Pleasant  Point,  among  the  Passamaquoddy  tribes  of 
Indians.  Almighty  God  blessed  abundantly  the  labours  of  these  de- 
voted missionaries,  and  Father  Barber  informed  the  Bishop  that  the 
Penobscot  Indians  were  doing  well ;  that  in  the  course  of  the  last  year 
(1828)  a  store  house  had  been  built  for  them  and  materials  had  been 
provided  to  build  a  church  the  following  spring  ;  that  the  school  had 
been  regulary  kept  up  and  the  Indians  were  united. 

Reverend  Father  Barber  paid  a  visit  to  his  old  parishioners  in 
Claremont  in  the  beginning  of  February,  1829.  The  news  that  he 
brought  back  to  the  Bishop  were  not  favorable.  "  The  good  people  there 
were  very  desirous  to  have  a  priest,  but  were  unable  to  support  him." 
We  easily  imagine  that  the  zealous  missionary  would  have  been  quite 
willing  to  return  to  Claremont,  a  spot  rendered  dear  to  him  on  so  many 
accounts,  and  to  start  anev,^  his  academy  ;  but  providence  willed  him 
to  labour  elsewhere  ;  and  on  Feb.  16th,  1829,  he  set  out  to  return  to  his 
mission  at  Indian  Old  Town,  intending  on  his  waj'-  thither  to  visit  the 
governor  and  council  of  the  State  of  Maine,  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing salary  for  his  support  as  teacher  among  the  tribe,  and  of  arranging 
other  matters  connected  with  the  agency.  A  few  months  later  he  was 
recalled  from  Maine  by  the  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  Order  in  George- 
town." 

So  far  we  have  quoted  from  Bishop  Fenwick.  We  will  quote 
from  Sister  Mary  Josephine's  memoirs. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  this  venerable  Sister  is  the  only 
surviving  child  of  Rev.  Virgil  Barber. 

Stationed  in  his  native  town  (in  1823  and  1824)  Rev.  Virgil  H.  Bar- 
ber began  the  erection  of  a  small  Catholic  church  and  seminary  contig- 
uous to  the  family  residence,  and  nearly  opposite  the  oft-frequented 
Protestant  parochial  meeting  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  road.  I 
will  quote  again  from  Father  Fittou's  letter  : 

"  I  have  still  a  vivid  recollection  of  your  grandfather  Daniel,  his 
aged  wife,  son  Israel  and  daughter  Rachael.  Mrs.  Tyler  also,  with  her 
husband,  sons  and  daughters,  (Sisters  of  Charity)  not  omitting  my 


REV.     VIRGIL    H.     BARBER.  77 

sainted  scllOol-fcllo^Y,  the  late  Bishop  of  Hartford,    Man}'  a  little  anec- 
dote I  could  tell  of  the  early  days  of  catholicity  at  Claremont. 

"  Not  forgettinir  Cornish— the  house  of  Capt.  Chase  and  sister,  espe- 
cially, whom  previous  to  their  receiving  the  grace  of  faith,  I  was  accus- 
tomed to  regard  as  the  corner  stone  of  Calvanism  !  and  there  were 
the  Marbles,  Holdens,  &c.,  all  related  to  the  Church  by  the  foot- 
prints and  untiring  zeal  of  your  own  sainted  Rev.  Father,  even 
of  wiiom  I  must  tell  a  secret.  When  his  seminary  was  in  full  progress 
and  the  house  adjoining  was  occupied  by  students,  my  curiosity  was  to 
know%  if  he  ever  slept,  where  did  he  sleep  ?  And  behold  !  I  found  his 
bed  to  be  a  strip  of  narrow  carpet  on  the  floor,  which  was  privately 
rolled  up  by  day  and  hid  in  the  closet." 

In  February,  1825,  he  had  the  sad  consolation  of  administering 
the  last  sacraments  to  his  aged  mother,  and  performing  her  funeral  ob- 
sequies. 

Xews  now  reached  Xew  England  that  Father  Fenwick,  the  same 
who  had  received  him  into  the  church,  was  nominated  to  the  vacant 
See  of  Boston.  Great  was  the  joy  of  my  father  on  learning  that  his 
former  friend  vras  to  assume  the  government  of  the  Diocese.  He  went 
on  to  Maryland  to  be  present  at  the  consecration,  wdiich  took  place  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore  on  Nov.  1st,  feast  of  All  Saints.  After  this 
he  accompanied  Bishop  Fenwick  to  Georgetown,  where,  with  my 
mother,  they  made  arrangements  for  the  future  location  of  myself  and 
sisters  in  the  Ursuline  Convents  of  Boston  and  Canada.  This  done  on 
Nov.  1st,  1825,  my  father  made  a  farewell  visit  to  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren (at  the  Visitation)  wdiom  he  met  all  together  for  the  last  time  ; 
and  on  the  morrow,  in  company  with  the  newly  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Boston  and  Dr.  England,  Bishop  of  Charlestown,  S.  C,  set  out  for  the 
north.  They  reached  their  destination  on  the  feast  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  (Saturday)  and  on  the  fourth,  Sunday,  Bishop  England  preach- 
ed and  presided  at  the  ceremony  of  the  installation.  My  father  had 
the  honor  of  officiating  as  deacon  at  Bishop  Fenwick's  first  pontifical 
Mass.  New  England,  at  the  time,  possessed  only  four  priests  beside  the 
Bishop.  We  may  say  only  three,  for  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor,  the  late  Admin- 
istrator of  the  See  and  Vicar  General,  had  arranged  for  his  return  to 
Europe,  and  had  given  in  his  resignation.  He  left  the  country  a  fev/ 
weeks  later,  and  died  in  France.  But  I  must  return  to  1825.  Bishop 
Fenwick  had  been  in  Boston  only  six  mouths  when  my  two  eldest  sis- 
ters Mary  and  Abigail,  arrived  there  from  Georgetown— Mary  to  remain, 
Abigail  to  proceed  on  to  Quebec.  The  latter  tarried  some  days  in  Bos- 
ton and  then  continued  her  journey  northward  ;  but  was  sadly  disap- 
pointed in  not  being  able  to  visit  her  father  at  his  old  homestead  in 


78  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Claremont,  Kew  Hampsliire.      The  following  letter  v;as  T\Tittcn  by 
him  in  reply  to  one  announcing  her  arrival  in  Quebec  : 

Clakemokt,  June  20,  183G. 
My  Dearest  Abey  : 

Undoubtedly  both  you  and  I  were  disappointed  that  you  did  not 
pass  through  Claremont  on  your  way  to  Quebec.  But  never  mind  ! 
Divine  Providence  is  best.  I  shall  see  you,  I  trust,  before  long.  I  am 
hi"-hly  satisfied  since  you  are  in  a  religious  house.  Behave  well.  Be 
exact  in  all  your  religious  duties.  Xever  do  anything  but  according  to 
your  rule.  If,  at  any  time  things  should  look  discouraging,  be  patient 
a  wdiile  ;  be  resigned  ;  be  cheerful.  All  will  come  right  again.  I 
should  like  to  see  you  in  a  Nun's  dress.  How  altered  !  and  yet,  my 
Abey.  To  speak  to  ycu  through  a  grate  !  I  must  see  you  in  this  man- 
ner ;  the  sight  would  be  so  gratifying  !  -  This  letter  must  be  short, 
but  I  will  make  up  the  deficiency  in  my  next.  Your  grandfather's 
health  seems  to  be  very  poor  again.  You  must  pray  for  him.  I  have 
lately  received  a  letter  from  the  dear  Samuel,  in  which  he  mentions 
that  he  continues  highly  contented  with  his  situation  and  is  endeavor- 
ino-  to  make  good  progess  in  his  studies. 

AVrite  to  me  as  the  permission  of  the  Rev.  Mother  Superior  admits- 
I  shall  write  to  you  as  occasion  renders  it  expedient,  and  shall  see  you 
as  soon  as  arrangenunts  will  allov/.  Finally,  my  dear  child,  be  a  good 
girl  ;  be  good,  religious  and  leave  all  things  to  Almighty  God. 

Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

VIRGIL  H.  BARBER,  S.  J. 

"  Fourteen  months  after  this,  Susan  and  myself  left  Georgetown  for 
the  north.  My  health  not  being  very  good  in  the  autumn  of  1880, 
Mother  St.  George  sent  me  to  Cornish,  N.  H.,  to  spend  some  months 
in  the  family  of  Capt.  Bela  Chase,  brother  of  Mother  M.  Ursula 
Chase.  The  family  was  a  saintly  one  ;  they  said  morning  and 
nidit  prayers  ;  also  the  rosary  aloud,  every  day ;  adding  to  the 
latter  a  sixth  decade,  "For  Father  Barber."  On  Sundays  they 
recited  the  whole  catechism  through,  and  sang  the  Kyrie,  Gloria, 
Credo  and  Sanctus,  of  'the  High  Mass  ;  Capt.  Chase  and  his  wife 
presiding,  and  his  eldest  son  accompanying  on  the  flageolet.  Their 
family  (principally)  formed  the  choir,  and  they  chanted  the  Mass, 
not  only  through  devotion,  but  in  order  to  retain  what  they  had 
learned,  and  to  teach  their  children  the  same  ;  for  there  was  then 
no  priest  at  Claremont ;  but  one  from  Burlington  visited  the  station 
every  three  months,  lodging  at  Capt.  Chase's,  where  an  apartment  was 

*    Mary  took  the  veil  August  15th,  Abey  on  Sept.  15lh. 


REV.     VIRGIL    IT.     BARBER.  79 

always  kept  in  reserve  for  him.*  I  had  been  here  a  few  weeks  only, 
when  my  father's  arrival  was  announced.  He  h;id  come  on  some  busi- 
ness matter,  and  staid  two  nights  and  a  dtiy — the  only  two  nights  I  had 
slept  under  the  same  roof  with  him  from  infancy.  Wishing  to  profit 
by  the  opportunity  of  going  to  confession  I  several  times  withdrew 
to  prepare  ;   l)ut  could  not  stay  away  from  my  father. 

"  I  put  mj'self  on  my  knees  to  begin  my  preparation.  At  length  I 
v/as  obliged  to  give  up  the  idea  of  confession  ;  and  my  father  left. 
After  his  departure,  as  I  was  expressing  my  regret  for  having  missed 
the  opportunity,  Mrs.  Chase  told  me  to  write  to  him,  for  he  was  staj*- 
iug  for  a  few  days  v.-ith  his  brother  at  Claremont  (six  miles  distant)  and 
Avould  return  if  I  solicited  it.  I  wrote,  and  meantime  made  my  pre- 
paration, iSText  day  I  sat  at  the  front  window^  and  w\atched  for  the 
mail  coach — not  a  steam  car,  but  drawn  by  four  horses.  As  I  saAv  them 
turning  toward  the  front  gate,  my  heart  beat  with  joy — my  father  got 
out,  and  in  a  few  hours  afterwards  I  had  the  happiness  of  making  my 
confession — the  th'st  I  had  ever  made  to  him.  Capt.  Chase  and  all  the 
family  (except  the  oldest  son)  went  also.  After  they  were  all  through, 
I  went  back  to  the  parlor,  and  my  father,  who  seemed  more  delighted 
than  I  was  myself,  took  me  up  under  the  arms  and  jumped  me  several 
times  half  way  to  the  ceiling  exchiiming  :  ''Islj  baby  !  My  baby  !  ' 
I  was  fifteen,  but  very  slight.  My  father,  on  the  contrary,  was  remark- 
ably tall  and  stout,  portly  and  handsome.  He  always  called  me  his 
baby,  because  I  was  the  youngest.  After  remjiining  several  years  in 
the  north,  my  father  was  recalled  to  the  Maryland  Province,  and  station- 
ed, at  different  times,  in  Georgetown,  Frederick,  Caughnawaga,  or  some 
other  of  the  Jesuit  houses  there.  He  was  at  St.  John's  College,  Frede- 
rick City,  when  I  arrived  there  in  1833  in  company  with  Mother  Agnes 
and  the  Foundation  Colony,  on  our  way  to  "  Far  West.  "  Stopping  at 
the  depot,  I  heard  my  father's  voice,  and  looked  about  in  all  directions 
to  discover  vrhere  he  was.  Still  I  heard  it  but  could  not  see  him  ;  but 
was  sure  he  was  near  ;  for  his  was  a  voice  of  such  peculiar  depth  and 
beauty  as  could  not  be  mistaken  by  one  at  all  accpiainted  with  his  tone. 
At  length  I  perceived  him  assisting  the  Sisters  fi'om  the  front  compart- 
ment of  the  (old-fashioned)  car.  My  turn  came,  and  he  lifted  me  outr.s 
if  I  was  a  feather,— then  accompanied  us  to  the  Academy  of  the  Sisters 
of  Charity,  nearly  opposite  the  Jesuit  Seminary  or  College.  After  a 
fev/  minutes'  conversation  in  the  parlor  I  withdrew  with  him,  and  we 
walked  alone  in  the  Seminary  garden.  I  mentioned  to  him  that  my 
mother  (before  my  leaving  Georgetown)  had  bidden  me  to  go  to  con- 
fession to  him  at  Frederick.    "  But,  papa,  "  I  added,  "  I  have  been  to 


Most  probably  Eev.  Jeremiah  O'Callagban. 


80  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

confession  so  lately  that  I  have  nothing  on  mv  mind  to  tell."  My 
father  made  no  answer,  but  went  on  pointing  out  to  me  the  beautiful 
flowers  on  the  borders.  But  my  mothei's  injunction  was  on  my  mind 
and  I  mentioned  it  a  second  time.  "  Well,  "  said  he,  "  if  your  mother 
told  you  to  go  you  had  better  do  so.  "  I  then  agreed  to  prepare  for  the 
next  morning,  about  six  o'clock.  That  same  evening  I  asked  Mother 
Agnes'  permission  to  go  to  Holy  Communion  likewise  ;  but  she  said 
"  as  the  Sisters  were  not  going  I  had  better  not.  "  Of  course  I  obeyed, 
but  have  always  regretted  the  privation  as — although  I  assisted  at  my 
father's  Mass — I  never  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  Holy  Commun- 
ion from  his  hands.  Two  hours  after  this  the  stage  coach  stood  at  the 
door,  and  I  bade  my  father  a  last  and  long  farewell. 

In  parting  he  put  into  my  hand  a  paper  which  I  did  not  open 
until  we  were  far  up  among  the  mountains.  It  Vv  as  a  little  poem  be- 
gining  thus  :      "  God  calls  thee  hence,  my  darling  child.  "      The  last 

verse  was  : 

"Assured  that  neither  late  nor  slow 
Tby  feet  will  press  religious  track, 
Go  with  a  father's  blessing  go  : 
To  God  who  gave,  He  gives  tbee  back." 

' '  My  father  after  helping  in  all  the  Sisters,  closed  the  coach  door 
One  more  word  of  adieu,  and  v»'e  were  on  our  way  v.'estward.  My 
father  stood  on  the  pavement  watching  the  stage  coach  as  it  receded 
with  the  last  of  his  five  children  ;  and  I  too  looked  out  at  him  as  long 
as  he  remained  in  sight.  I  wrote  to  him  nearly  every  da}^  during  our 
journey,  (as  he  had  bidden  me)  and  again  when  we  reached  Kaskaskia, ' 
which  was  on  Friday,  May  8d,  the  feast  of  the  finding  of  the  cross. 
Three  years  afterwards  my  mother  came  out  WTSt. 

"Of  the  subsequent  years  of  my  father's  life,  I  know  nothing  except 
that  he  was  in  1836  removed  to  Conewago,  and  finally  to  Georgetown 
College,  where  he  died.  His  disease  was  paralysis,  from  which  he  had 
suffered  about  two  years.  The  only  account  I  have  of  his  last  moments 
is  from  a  letter  from  my  brother  to  sister  Abey.  Samuel  was  not  with 
my  father,  but  at  the  novitiate  at  Frederick,  whence  he  wrote  to  th3 
other  members  of  the  family.  But  my  mother  having,  in  a  severe  ill- 
ness in  Mobile — where  she  was  supposed  to  be  dying — caused  all  her 
letters  to  be  burned,  I  have  no  particulars  except  those  contained  in 
these  few  lines. 

Novitiate,  Feederick  City,  March  25,  1847. 
Dearest  Mary  : 

I  have  rather  sad  intelligence  to  convey.  I  received  a  letter  dated 
the  19th  from  Fr.  Thos.  Mulledy,  President  of  Georgetown  College, 
stating  that  our  dear  father  had  been  threatened,  on  the  17th,  with 


REV.     VIROIL    IL     BARBER.  81 

paralysis  ;  lie  received  the  last  sacraments  ;  was  perfectly  in  his  senses, 
was  well  prepared  and  quite  resigned.  Since  then  I  heard  by  one  of 
ours  from  the  college,  that  he  continues  pretty  muclj  in  the  same  state, 
expecting  dail}^  his  dissolution.  A  letter  from  Rev.  Father  Vespre, 
dated  21st,  the  procurator  of  the  college,  informs  me  that  he  is  linger- 
ing under  a  slowly  progressing  paralysis.  The  symptoms  have  disap- 
peared from  the  head  ;  but  his  left  side  is  strongly  affected.  Let  is 
unite  together  my  dear  Mary  and  Abey,*  in  earnest  prayer,  for  so  be- 
loved a  father,  to  our  father  who  is  in  heaven,  that  he  would  support 
us  all  in  the  trial,  give  us  all  resignation,  and  teach  us  to  look  upon 
heaven  as  our  only  true  home.  If  such  be  our  faith,  we  shall  rather 
envy  than  regret  our  father's  lot.  Adieu,  may  we  all  meet  in  heaven. 
Susan  gone  ;  father  is  going ;  happy  the  one  that  goes  next,  if  only 
prepared.  Let  us  join  in  fervent  petition  to  God  and  to  Mary  for  the 
inestimable  blessing. 

Your  devoted  brother  in  Christ, 

SAMUEL  BARBER,  S.  J. 

Novitiate,  Frederick,  March  31,  1847. 
Dear  Mary  and  Abey  : 

No  doubt  my  last  letter  made  you  sad  enough — but  earth  is  the 
land  of  our  exile,  not  our  home.  Should  we  then  repine  if  those  we 
love  are  recalled  from  their  banishment  to  their  heavenly  country  ?  On 
Saturday  evening  our  dear  father  received  once  more  the  holy  sacra- 
ments,— confession  and  communion,  and  with  a  holy  calm,  perfectly 
resigned  the  most  holy  will  of  God,— without  a  struggle  at  about  half- 
past  eight  o'clock,  rendered  up  his  soul  to  his  Maker.  I  need  not  tell 
you  to  pray  and  to  procure  as  many  prayers  as  possible  for  the  repose 
of  his  soul.  We  know  not  how  much  he  many  need  them  ;  and  if  he 
does  not,  they  will  not  be  lost.  Let  us  not  repine  or  grieve  immoder- 
ately for  the  loss,  but  say  more  friendly  than  ever  :  "  Our  Father  who 
art  in  heaven  !"  We  have  two  fathers  ;  one  to  pray  for  us,  the  other  to 
shower  graces  upon  us.  Ah  !  my  beloved  Mary  and  Abey,  such  is  the 
case  as  we  may  well  hope.  This  hope  unfolds  to  us  a  brighter  coun- 
try where  tears  and  sorrow  can  never  intrude.     Adieu,  &c.,  &c. 

Your  devoted  brother, 

SAMUEL,  S.  J. 

Susan,  my  youngest  sister,  was  the  only  one  of  our  family  whose 
death  preceded  that  of  my  father.     She  died  at  the  Ursuline  Convent, 

*    Both  were  at  this  time  in  the  Ursuline  Convent  at  Quebec. 

6 


82  CATHOLIC    31  E MO  IRS. 

Three  Rivers,  Jan.  24,  1837,  aged  twenty-four  years,  and  of  religious 
profession,  four  ;  preceding  him  to  the  tomb  by  two  years.  I  find  the 
following  among  sister  Abey's  papers  :  * 

CoNEWAGo,  Dec.  31,  1836. 
My  very  dear  Susan  : 

A  letter  from  the  dear  Mary  tells  me  your  health  is  very  bad.  To 
me  there  is  something  unaccountable  respecting  you.  In  consequence  of 
a  letter  from  my  friend,  Mr.  Burroughs,  informing  me  of  your  ill- 
health,  I  wrote  instantly,  under  date  of  Oct.  10th,  begging  you  most 
pressingly  to  tell  me  how  you  w'ere.  To  this  I  received  no  answer. 
At  length  a  letter  from  dear  Abey  mentioned  that  you  were  much 
better  in  health  and  spirits.  With  this  I  remained  satisfied  till  yester- 
day, daily  expecting  a  line  from  you.  Why  do  you  keep  me  in  this 
anxious  suspense  ?  I  well  know  you  would  do  nothing  to  give  me 
pain.  But  there  seems  to  be  a  fatality  that  domineers  in  this  affair. 
Still,  in  the  words  of  my  last  letter,  "  Relieve  a  father's  aching  heart 
by  dispatching  me,  by  the  next  mail  a  letter,  should  it  necessarily  con- 
tain but  a  single  line.  "  If  you  arcable,  tell  me  all  particulars  ;  exactly 
how  you  have  been  and  exactly  how  you  are  now.  But  in  this,  be 
not  anxious ;  I  shall  be  entirely  satisfied  with  what  you  can  do  con- 
V3niently  to  yourself.  Meantime,  w^hatsoever  may  be  jowy  destiny, 
rest  assured  of  one  thing  :  Your  father  wall  for  a  long  time  to  come, 
as  he  has  for  several  months  past,  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  for  his  dear- 
est Susan  alone.  Tell  me  w^hether  you  received  my  letter  of  Oct.  10th. 
With  the  same  anxious  love  with  which,  for  so  many  years  I  have 
clasped  you  to  my  bosom  and  carried  you  in  my  heart,  I  still  am, 

dearest  Susan. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

V.  H.  BARBER,  S.  J. 

CoNEWAGO,  Sept.  16,  1837. 
My  own  ever  dearest  Mary  :  f 

Your  sister  Abey  tells  me  that  you  are  seriously  ill.  How  I  wish 
I  could  sit  at  your  bed  side,  watch  over  you  day  and  night,  anticipat- 
\n<r  all  your  wants  and  assuaging  your  pains  of  body  and  weari- 
ness of  mind  !  But  Providence  resolves  otherwise.  Let  us  then  main- 
tain our  constancy.  Let  us  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  God  is  good 
and  true.       He  will  not  despise  the  offering   we  have  made  Him. 


*     Abey  Barber  (Sr.  Mary  Fr.  Xavler')  was  in  Quebec  when  Rev.  Yirpil  Barber  wrote 
from  ConeWago  to  his  daug-hter  Susan,  religious  in  Ursuhne  Convent,  Three  Ilivers. 

+    Mary,  his  eldest  daughter.     In  religion  Sr.  Mary  Benedict,  living  at  the  Ursullne 
Convent.  Quebec. 

jjQTR.—From  the  dates  given,  we  see  that  this  letter  was  written  to  Susan  twenty-four 
days  before  her  death. 


REV.     VIRGIL    II     BARBER.  83 

Let  His  grace,  therefore,  console  us  with  a  just  cjDnfidence  in  ITim 
whether  in  life  or  death.  You  sent  a  request  that  I  would  offer  for 
you  the  Holy  Sacrifice  twice  a  week.  What  diflidence  suggested  this  ? 
Why  not  say  every  day?    This  I  shall  do  until  1  hear  from  you  again. 

I  hope,  my  dear  Mary,  you  will  never  conceal  from  me  any  of 
your  trials  and  sufferings  on  the  supposition  that  it  will  pain  me  to 
know  that  heaven  now  and  then  sets  to  work  to  scour  and  polish  your 
jewels.  You  are  aware  that  these  gems  are  hardly  ever  lustrous  and 
valuable  in  their  native  state  ;  but  must  be  split  down  with  a  chisel 
and  hammer,  and  scoured  with  diamond  dust  (the  most  cutting 
of  substances)  before  becoming  fit  for  a  crown  designed  for  the  spouse 
of  a  king.  Now,  your  jewels  are,  I  think,  in  the  hands  of  a  first-rate 
artist ;  and  if  we  let  him  have  his  own  way,  he  no  doubt  will  turn  out 
a  capital  article  for  you.  You  express  anxiety  about  my  health, 
but  thank  God  !  it  has,  for  a  long  time  been  good  ;  and  at  present  my 
strength  and  activity  are  the  same  as  at  twenty-five. 

There  came  in  the  same  mail  with  your  letter,  one  also  from  your 
little  sister  Josephine.  She  and  your  good  mother  were  well.  Their 
community  w^re  to  remove  to  the  new  convent  on  the  2nd  of  this 
month.  I  had,  about  the  last  of  June,  a  letter  from  the  very  dear 
Samuel,  (Rome)  dated  his  birth  day,  March  19th.  He  was  well.  I 
have  not  been  to  Georgetown  for  more  than  a  year.  For  the  pretty 
flowers  from  the  dearest  Susan's  cold  bed  I  thank  you  and  also  that 
amiable  and  promising  young  novice,  Miss  du  Chene,  to  whom  pre- 
sent my  thanks  and  best  wishes,  &c.,  &c, 

Y.  H.  BARBER. 

Mary  recovered,  and  though  delicate,  lived  ten  years  longer,  to  the 
age  of  35.  She  survived  my  father  thirteen  months,  and  died  on  his 
birthday,  May  9,  1848,  aged  38. 

From  my  father  to  Sister  M.  Xavier.'-' 

CoNEWAGO,  Aug.  9,  1836. 
My  Dearest  Abey : 

Yours  of  the  18th  ult.  was  received  to-day.  What  a  lucky  day 
this  has  been  to  me  !  the  dear  little  Josephine's  birthday.  As  I  went 
down  to  Mass,  (which,  of  course,  was  for  her)  a  gentleman  handed  me 
a  package  from  your  good  mother  ;  and  before  dinner  a  letter  from 
the  dear  Mary  and  another  from  yourself  were  put  into  my  hands  ! 
Both  letters  were  mailed  at  Boston  on  the  2nd  inst.  You  judge  truly 
when  you  conclude  that  your  parents  are  happy  in  their  children.  For 


An  Ursuline  Nun  at  Quebec, 


84  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

what  parents  could  be  happier  in  this  respect  than  your  dear  mother  and 
myself  ?  I  might  almost  ask  what  more  could  even  God  have  done  for 
us  ?  Why  He  should  have  done  this— not  to  mention  His  other  un- 
speakable acts  of  goodness— is  what  confounds  me  when  I  think  of  my 
nothingness.  To  see  my  dear  family,  my  most  and  only  prtcious 
treasure  on  earth,  possess  the  grace  to  despise  the  world  and  the  vani- 
ties of  time  and  live  only  for  eternity,  leaves  me  without  a  wish  this 
side  of  the  grave.  You  want  to  know^  whether  I  will  visit  you  this 
season  and  will  not  be  disappointed  when  I  tell  you  I  hcpe  to  see 
Canada  not  this,  but  next  summer. 

I  am  greatly  rejoiced  to  hear  that  you  are  striving  to  correspond 
to  the  grace  of  your  vocation.  Persevere,  my  good,  dear  child,  for  the 
conflict  lasts  only  for  a  season,  and  fidelity  alone  is  necessary  to  ensure 
victory.  How  good  is  Almighty  God  to  dispose  things  thus  sweetly  in 
accordance  Avith  our  weakness  ! 

Your  affectionate  father, 

V.  H.  BARBER." 


LIFE   OF  MRS.    JERUSHA    BARBER.  85 


LIFE  OF  MRS,  JERUSHA  BARBER. 

IN     RELIGION, 

SISTER    MARY    AUGUSTIN. 


Wc  transcribe  without  comments,  and  almost  without  change,  the 
following:  life  of  Mrs.  Jerusha  Barber,  wife  of  Rev.  Virgil  Barber, 
named  in  religion,  Sistek  Mary  Augustin.  Renewing  our  thanks 
to  the  Rev.  Sisters  of  the  Visitation,  who  have  permitted  us  to  publish 
a  life  so  admirable  and  so  well  written  by  Sister  Josephine,  a  mem- 
ber of  their  order,  and  the  only  surviving  child  of  Mr.  Virgil  Barber 
and  Jerusha  Barber. 

BurHngton,  Dec.  8th,  1885. 


"The  following  is  an  account  of  the  conversion  of  my  mother, 
written  at  request  of  Rt.  Rev.  J.  Quinlan,  during  her  last  illness,  Dec, 
1859.  My  mother  was  born  at  New  Town,  Conn.,  July  20,  1789  ;  my 
father,  I  think,  at  Clareraont,  New  Hampshire.  My  grand  parents  on 
my  mother's  side  were  Protestants,  but  very  pious  in  their  way  ;  strict 
members  of  their  church,  and  as  my  mother  tells  me,  models  of  moral 
and  domestic  virtue.  She  says  my  grandmother  Booth  was  looked 
upon  as  a  saint  by  her  Protestant  neighbors  and  acquaintances,  and  of 
my  great-grandmother  mentions  one  trait  which  seems  to  show  that  she 
was  something  more  than  a  merely  nominal  Christian.  In  her  earlier 
years  when  her  husband  was  having  a  new  dwelling  house  built  for  his 
family,  she  went  to  see  it ;  and  perceiving  that  the  plasterers  had  com- 
menced some  stucco-work  on  her  bed-room  wall,  requested  them  to 
desist  and  leave  it  unfinished  ;  saying  she  did  not  wish  to  sleep  and  die 
under  an  ornamented  ceiling  when  Christ  had  been  born  in  a  stable. 
And  truly  enough,  she  died  in  that  very  apartment  at  an  advanced  age. 
My  mother  was  the  youngest  of  four  daughters.  To  my  inquiries  con- 
cerning her  early  life  she  answered  that  she  did  not  commence  to  be 
pious  until  the  age  of  sixteen,  the  time  of  her  father's  death  ;  from 
which  date  she  applied  herself  to  comfort  and  please  her  mother  and 
to  be  "  religious  "  ;  though,  even  in  ahildhood,  at  least  from  the  age  of 


86  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

ten  or  twelve,  she  had  been  punctual  and  devout  at  her  prayers,  and 
had  performed  all  her  duties  in  reference  to  God.  She  was  in  the  habit 
of  kneeling  and  offering  to  God  every  new  article  of  dress,  before  put- 
ting it  on,  i^articularly  if  it  excited  any  scruples  on  the  score  of  vanity. 
I  asked  her  if  she  did  not  offer  her  work  and  actions  to  God.  "  No,  " 
said  she  ;  "  I  did  not  think  them  worthy  of  being  offered  to  Him.  I 
would  have  almost  considered  it  blasphemy.  In  offering  my  new 
dresses,  &c.,  it  was  to  ask  permission  to  use  them  ;  and  a  kind  of  pro- 
testation that  I  designed  not  to  offend  Him  in  s^  doing.  "  Several  seri- 
ous accidents  befell  her  in  her  childhood,  of  which,  in  a  letter  dated 
Mobile,  Al. ,  1850,  she  thus  speaks  :  ' '  The  devil  has  always  been  fighting 
for  my  soul  and  the  souls  of  my  family  ;  and  I  feel  we  can  escape  his  * 
malicious  grasp  only  by  strenuous  efforts.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt 
that  it  Vv\as  he  that  plunged  me  into  a  wtII  twenty  feet  of  water,  (there 
being  no  children  or  other  person  near  enough  to  push  me)  when  I  was 
but  six  or  seven  years  of  age.  Again  in  Otter  Creek,  just  above  the 
rapids,  when  I  was  in  my  eleventh  year.  And  the  same  year,  when 
with  my  dear  father,  I  was  standing  by  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  four  or  five 
feet  in  diameter,  which  the  men  were  felling,  who  made  it  incline  in  a 
diametrically  opposite  line  to  which  my  father  and  all  the  men  judged 
it  would  fall ;  I,  with  the  fiectncss  of  a  deer,  barely  made  my  escape,  so 
as  to  be  touched  only  by  seme  flexible  and  light  branches.  And  that 
is  not  all  ;  but  it  is  enough  and  too  much  for  my  leisure.  Later,  when 
I  had  famil}^  he  assailed  the  souls  of  my  children  ;  and  he  has  always 
pursued  some  one  of  you  furiously  ;  but  with  the  grace  of  God  we  will 
all  escape  his  clutches,  and  eventually  triumph  gloriously  in  heaven. 
I  know  and  feel  that  he  is  frequently  molesting  me  ;-but  I  spurn  him 
and  push  on  with  an  effort.  And  so  3^ou  must  do,  my  dear  Benjamin.- 
When  I  penned  the  passage  to  which,  in  j'our  late  letter,  you  make 
such  strong  objections,  our  Lord  placed  before  my  mind's  eye,  in  such 
vivid  colors,  the  night,  with  all  its  circumstances,  when  the  appalling 
thunder  storm  tore  the  bricks  from  the  chimney  of  your  and  my  room, 
that  it  seemed  I  could  say  nothing  else.  Ah  !  how  I  prayed  and  wept 
that  night  !  for  I  thought  I  should  behold  you  a  corpse  before  morn- 
ing. " 

My  parents  were  married  in  the  year  1807,  on  September  20th.  My 
father  aged  about  twenty-five  ;  my  mother  about  niijeteen. 

My  mother  has  often  told  me  that  he  was  so  perfectly  devoted  to 
her  and  his  children,  that  he  had  no  happiness  out  of  his  family  ;  in 
so  much  that  he  was  of  tentmies  impatient  when  his  little  circle  was  en- 
croached upon,  or  his  domestic  joj's  interrupted  by  the  visits  of  friends  ; 


*    She  used  to  call  me  Benjamin,  because  I  was  the  j'oungest. 


LIFE   OF  MRS.    JERUSIIA    BARBER.  87 

and  she  was  frequently  oblig-ed  to  expostuliite  with  him  on  the  subject. 
In  trouble,  sickness,  &.Q.,  no  one  could  comfort,  no  one  advise  him  but 
herself.  Ilcr  usual  antidote  for  all  his  ills  was  prayer.  '  And  he,  '  as 
she  says,  *  more  docile  than  a  child, '  would  kneel  and  recite  with  her, 
whatever  her  piety  and  affection  prompted  her  to  address  to  the  Giver 
of  all  Consolation,  in  his  behalf. 

She  was  obliged  to  share  in  all  his  thoughts,  plans  and  projects. 
She  was  in  everything,  his  chief  adviser  and  assister.  He  would  neither 
read,  hear  or  sec  anything  without  her.  In  fact  his  happiness  seemed 
dependent  on  her  presence  and  participation.  Mary,  his  eldest  child, 
was  born  in  January,  1810  ;  Abey  (Abigail),  in  1811  ;  Susan,  in  1813  ; 
Samuel,  in  1814  ;  and  Josephine,  the  youngest,  in  1816.  I  know  noth- 
ing of  this  period  of  his  life,  having  destroyed  his  journal.  The  first  thing, 
I  believe,  which  drew  my  father's  attention  to  the  Catholic  religion  was 
the  perus  d  of  the  life  of  St.  Francis-Xavier.  How  it  happened  to  fall 
into  his  hands  I  cannot  tell,  but  the  book  proved  a  complete  facina- 
tion.  Night  and  day  he  kept  it  by  him,  even  under  his  pillow,  read 
and  re-read  it  himself  and  to  my  mother,  and  even  to  the  Episco- 
pal Bishop  and  ministers  ;  and  often,  too,  offended  my  mother  a  little 
by  saying  :  his  parallel  could  not  be  found  in  the  whole  Protestant 
church.  This  must  have  been  before  the  birth  of  Samuel  in  March 
1814 — for  my  father  had  set  his  heart  on  giving  the  name  of  Francis- 
Xavier  to  his  only  son.  My  mother  inquired  what  name  he  intended 
to  give  him  at  his  christening.  "  Francis-Xavier,  "  he  replied.  "  No," 
said  my  mother,  "no  Popish  names  in  our  family.  "  "  Then  name 
him  yourself. "  "  No  ;  I  named  the  daughters  ;  you  ought  to  name  the 
son."  "  Well,  Francis-Xavier," — and  he  could  not  be  induced  to  make 
any  other  selection.  They  were  at  the  font,  no  name  as  yet  decided  on. 
My  mother  again  appealed  to  him.  He  still  answered,  "Francis- 
Xavier."  She  objected.  "  V»^ell,  "  replied  he,  "  I  shall  be  satisfied 
with  any  name  you  may  desire,  "  and  she  called  him  Samuel,  after  the 
holy  prophet  of  the  old  law.  This  was  three  years  before  their  abjura- 
tion of  Protestantism. 

My  parents  did  not  precipitately  embrace  the  Catholic  religion. 
My  father,  attracted  and  awed  by  the  sanctity  of  the  Apostle  of  the 
Indies,  wished  to  go  deeper  into  the  record  of  Catholic  sanctity  and 
doctrine.  He  found  Protestantism  too  superficial,  too  recent,  too 
worldly  and  too  inconsistent.  There  was  neither  unity  nor  subordina- 
tion in  the  church,  neither  power  nor  godliness  in  its  founders  and 
rulers. 

After  much  anxiety  and  research,  in  which  my  mother  was  made 
to  share  his  every  exploration  and  discovery,  he,  with  her  approval, 
resolved  on  making  a  visit  to  New  York  city,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 


^3  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

suiting  the  works  of  the  early  fathers  to  be  found  in  St.  Paul's  (Episco- 
pal) library  there.  He  staid  a  week  shut  up  the  whole  time  in  the 
library,  toiling  indefatigably  at  his  business  of  life  or  death,  on  which 
the  destinies  of  his  family  for  time  and  eternity  depended.  At  length, 
having  obtained  answers  to  all  his  difficulties,  at  least  to  the  ijrincipal, 
he  procured  such  books  as  he  could,  transcribed  the  most  useful  and 
conclusive  passages  from  others,  and  returned  home  to  deliver  to  my 
mother  the  trophies  of  his  labors.  She  could  make  no  reply  to  the 
fathers  of  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity  ;  but  wished  to  hear  them 
rendered  in  English  by  others  of  the  ministers,  to  see  if  their  transla- 
tions would  agree.  Accordingly  several,  and  among  them  Bp.  Hobart 
himself,  translated  them  for  her.  She  had  often  told  me  that  my 
father's  patience  with  her  v.as  exhausted  ;  that  he  took  the  utmost 
pains  to  satisfy  her  every  inquiry,  going  over  and  over  again,  the  same 
points  with  her  until  perfectly  satisfied.  But  ii  was  with  feelings  of 
dread  and  consternation  my  mother  saw  her  own  ground  giving  way 
under  her,  and  with  pain  that  she  discovered  that  all  her  ancient  and 
dear  associations  must  by  the  unreality  or  fallacy  of  their  foundation, 
fall  to  nothing.  Night  after  night  my  parents  used  to  sit  up  together, 
discussing  points  of  dcctrine  and  reading  works  of  controversy.  In- 
deed my  father  would  never  v^illingly  read  without  her,  and  she 
has  told  me  oftentimes,  when  she  became  so  overpowered  with 
sleep  as  actually  to  doze,  such  was  the  habit  of  attention  she  had  ac- 
quired, as  to  know  what  my  father  had  read.  In  such  cases,  if  she 
failed  to  comment  on  some  striking  passage  he  had  expected  her  to 
notice,  he  would  stop  and  say  :  "  There,  now  !  You  are  not  paying 
any  attention  ! "  Whereupon  she  would  repeat  the  words  he  had  just 
read,  while  she  was  listening  in  her  sleep.  But  as  it  became  more 
evident  to  ray  parents  that  they  must  quit  the  side  of  errors  ;  and  as 
they  had  openly  expressed  to  the  Protestant  Bishop  and  ministers  their 
sense  of  the  insecurity  in  their  Communion,  the  latter  made  every  ef  ort 
to  retain  them  in  their  old  faith.  Several  discussions  were  held  at  our 
house ;  but  the  more  the  primitive  dcctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
church  was  searched  into  the  more  its  identity  with  that  of  Rome  be- 
came apparent.  JMy  father,  at  least,  was  perfectly  satisfied  ;  my 
mother  not  sufliciently  so  as  yet.  Tlie  Bishop  and  ministers  seeing  at 
last  that  my  father  was  fully  determined  on  a  secession  from  their 
church,  intimated  to  him  that  in  case  of  his  taking  such  a  step,  he 
would  be  expected  to  resign  his  professorship  and  presidency  over  the 
Episcopal  seminary — just  erected  into  a  college — by  a  grant  of  the 
Legislature."    My  father  had  already  considered  the  necessity  of  this ; 


*    At  Fairaell,  near  Ulica,  N,  Y. 


LIFE   OF  MRS.    JERtlSnA    BARBER.    '  89 

and  tliougli  his  position  was  sufflcicnlly  lucrative  and  lionora])le  accord- 
ing to  the  wcrld,  it  proved  not,  thank  God  !  an  insuperable  temptation 
to  him.  He  would,  however,  give  no  positive  answer  without  consult- 
ing my  mother  ;  and  withdrew  to  ask  her  advice.  "  If,  "  said  she,  "  I 
were  to  become  a  Catholic,  I  would  go  where  I  could  practice  my  reli- 
gion. "  This  decided  him.  He  returned  to  the  seminary  and  informed 
the  professors  that  he  intended  to  remove  to  New  York  City.  I  was 
born  just  about  this  time  (Aug.  Gth,  1816) ;  and  the  first  praj^er  my 
mother  ever  addressed  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  on  my  account.  She 
promised  that  if  she  would  deign  to  assist  her  in  her  hour  of  need,  she 
would  believe  in  and  pray  to  her.  She  experienced  the  help  desired  ; 
and  says  my  birth  was  miraculous,  but  did  not  explain  how.  This 
was  August  9th,  1816.  The  day  following  the  professors  and  trustees 
of  the  college  came  to  make  a  last  effort  at  reclaiming  my  father.  My 
mother  knowing  they  would  debate  points  of  controversy,  and  anxious 
to  hear  all  they  had  to  say  in  defence  of  either  side  of  the  ciuestion, 
requested  the  conference  might  be  held  in  an  apartment  adjoining  her 
bed  room.  She  had  the  door  left  ajar  and  her  bed  drawn  close  up,  so 
that  she  could  hear  every  word  ;  and  there  during  the  one  or  two  hours 
the  disputation  lasted,  heard  all  the  arguments  of  the  ministers  refuted 
by  my  father.  "  I  heard  them,  "  said  she,  "  yield  point  after  point  to 
him.  The  trustees  then  offered  to  go  for  Bishop  Hobart,  but  I  could  not 
permit  them,  seeing  it  was  useless.  "  My  parents  prepared  to  remove 
to  New  York  city. 

In  my  mother's  note  book  I  found  the  following  :  Dec.  24,  1816, 
Josephine  baptized  by  the  Rev,  Mr.  Fenwick  at  his  house.  Jay  Street, 
No.  15,  New  York  City.  Feb.  9,  1817,  Mr.  B.  and  myself  made  our 
first  communion  at  8  o'clock,  in  St,  Peter's  Chapel,  Barclay  Street. 
Feb,  2ord,  Rev.  Mr,  Fenwick  here  ;  we  opened  to  him  our  wish  to 
devote  ourselves  to  religion.  The  date  of  my  parents'  abjuration  I  do 
not  know  ;  but  thinking  their  first  baptism  in  the  Episcopal  Church 
valid,  they  were  not  re-baptized  till  seven  months  after  their  first  Com- 
munion ;  that  is  Sept.  18,  1817. 

Being  settled  in  New  York,  my  father  applied  himself  at  once  ^o 
the  business  he  had  come  upon,  and  applied  to  the  Catholic  clergy, 
who  seemed  to  look  upon  him  with  some  distrust.  Rev,  B.  Fenwick, 
however,  seemed  to  penetrate  the  uprightness  and  earnestness  of  his 
purpose  and  to  take  in  it  a  friendly  interest.  My  father  was  accus- 
tomed to  go  to  the  ('atholic  Church  to  Mass,  vespers,  &c.,  and  was  fre- 
quently accompanied  by  some  of  the  other  Episcopal  ministers.  One 
in  particular,  agreed  with  him  in  admiring  and  approving  of  everv- 
thing  he  saw  and  heard  ;  doctrine  as  well  as  ceremonies  ;  whereupon  my 
father  asked,  "  why,  then,  he  did  not  become  a  Catholic  ?"  "My  family," 


90  CATHOLIC    3IEM0IR8. 

said  lie,  "  are  the  only  obstacle.  I  would  have  no  means  of  maintaining 
them.  "  After  my  father's  death,  my  mother  used  to  relate  this  to  me^ 
and  with  tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks  ;  assuring  me  at  the  same  time 
that  they  were  tears,  not  of  grief  but  of  joy  and  thanMulness  to  God, 
that  by  His  grace  no  such  consideration  had  prevented  her  husband 
from  following  the  truth. 

He  had  had  a  good  salary  it  is  true,  but  had  lived  up  to  his  means 
and  laid  nothing  by.  My  mother  never  knew  nor  never  inquired  what 
became  of  his  house  and  property  near  Utica,  and  never  mentioned  it 
to  her  children,  so  fearful  was  she  that  little  claim  to  earth  might  be 
an  impediment  to  a  higher  vocation.  My  parents  opened  a  small  school 
for  their  support ;  but  could  have  remained  in  New  York  only  some  seven 
or  eight  months,  having  removed  to  Georgetown  the  May  or  June  fol- 
lowing. In  the  same  spring  Father  B.  Fenwick,  who  had  been  recalled 
to  Georgetown  to  assume  the  rectorship  of  the  college  there,  wrote  to 
mv  father,  asking  him  what  were  his  views  and  intentions,  with  regard 
tothe  future.  My  father  answered  that  "  were  it  not  for  his  wife  and 
children  he  would  enter  the  ministry,  feeling  a  decided  call  thereto.  " 
He  had  always  been  in  the  habit  of  reading  to  my  mother  every  line  he 
wrote  or  received ;  and  novv',  according  to  custom  read,  aloud,  both 
Father  Fenwick's  letter  and  his  answer.  The  letter  was  the  death 
blow  of  her  happiness.  "  From  that  hour,  "  said  she  to  me,  ''  I  en- 
joyed not  a  moment's  peace.  The  tJioKgJit  that  God  uanted  my  brother 
(for  so  she  called  Mr.  Barber,  after  their  entrance  into  religion)  and  that 
Iicas  the  obstacle ,  pursued  me  day  and  night.  "  But  she  did  not,  at  first, 
reveal  her  trouble  to  him,  hoping  time  w^ould  dissipate  it.  But  it  proved 
the  reverse.  Everything  she  read,  everything  she  heard,  seemed  to 
boar  upon  the  one  point,  and  to  fasten  upon  her  heart  with  a  tenacity 
from  which  she  was  unable  to  free  herself.  "I  felt,  said  she,  "  that  I 
must  make  the  sacrifice  to  God  ;  and  that  if  I  would  refuse  He  would 
deprive  me  of  my  husband  and  children  both  in  this  w^orld  and  the 
next.  Of  this  I  felt  the  strongest  conviction  ;  that  in  case  of  a  refusal 
one  or  the  other  of  us  would  die  and  our  children  be  left  orphans.  "  At 
length,  unable  to  endure  her  agony  of  mind,  she  imparted  her  thoughts 
to  my  father  who  tried  to  soothe  her  by  saying  that  God  did  not  require 
such  a  thins:  of  them  and  that  she  must  not  permit  it  to  distress  her. 
He  told  her  "  that  in  penning  those  lines,  he  had  not  meant  them  in 
the  sense  she  had  taken,  but  only  as  expressive  of  his  predilection  for 
the  ministry,  feeling  himself  bound  to  his  family  by  the  laws  of  God 
and  man.  "  This  would  quiet  her  for  a  while  ;  but  in  spite  of  his  as- 
surances her  trouble  would  return,  and  at  times  with  such  violence, 
that  she  was  obliged  to  call  him  from  his  school  room  to  give  her  com- 
fort.    "  Then,  "  said  she,  "he  would  take  me  in  his  arms,  wipe  away 


LIFE   OF  MRS.    JERUSUA    BAllBER.  91 

my  tears,  and  talk  to  me  until  my  fears  were  almost  dissipated.  Yet 
whilst  he  lavished  upon  me  all  this  tenderness  there  was  deep  down  in 
my  heart  ti  whisper  that  said  :  '  This  is  not  God.  This  is  not  what 
He  demands  of  you. '  "  Neither  was  my  father  without  similar  im- 
pressions, although  he  concealed  them  from  her,  deeming  it  his  duty  to 
do  so  until  better  asoured  of  the  will  of  God.  But  when  this  became 
manifest,  he  encouraged  her  to  prefer  eternity  to  time  and  to  look  faricard 
to  their  happy  reunion  in  a  hetter  world.  They  were  not  long  in  taking 
their  decision,  for  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  remain  in  such  a  vio- 
lent state  of  feeling  for  any  great  length  of  time.  Yet  between  its  first 
suggestion  and  final  accomplishment  some  months  must  necessa- 
rily intervene  ;  and  these  were  to  my  parents  months  of  agony.  "  A 
thousand  times,"  said  my  mother,  "would  I  willingly  have  had  a 
dagger  plunged  into  my  breast,  and  have  found  it  a  relief  !  for  not 
only  did  my  heart  ache  with  the  sentiment  of  grief  ;  but  it  ached  phy- 
sically— the  very  flesh  ached,  just  as  your  head  aches.  Put  your  hand 
here  ;  you  cannot  feel  it  beat ;  it  is  not  in  its  natural  place  ;  it  is  sunk 
in  back."  And  truly  enough,  I  could  not  feel  the  slightest  pulsa- 
tion ;  but  on  applying  the  hand  to  a  spot  between  the  shoulders, 
found  the  palpitations  strong.*  I  need  not  say  I  was  much  astonished 
at  it,  and  wondered  at  the  moral  and  physical  strength  with  which 
God  must  have  endued  her  to  sustain  an  assault  of  mental  sufi'ering 
and  for  so  long  a  time.  My  father,  also,  at  times  nearly  gave  way 
under  the  trial,  "  When  he  w^as  in  depression  of  mind,  "  said  she  "  he 
always  wanted  me  to  talk  to  him  ;  and,  as  docile  as  a  little  child, 
would,  at  my  bidding,  kneel  and  recite  with  me  the  collect  for  peace  ;  a. 
also  that  to  the  Choir  of  Thrones,  which,  I  think,  never  failed  to  tran- 
cjuilizing  him.  Yet  I  did  not  immediately  surrender  myself  to  grace. 
I  resisted  as  long  as  I  could  and  as  long  as  I  dared  ;  striving  to  turn  a 
deaf  ear  to  it,  and  to  persuade  myself  God  did  not  demand  such  a 
course  from  me.  But  in  vain.  I  was  compelled  to  yield.  "  I  once 
asked  her  how  she  had  been  able  to  accomplish  such  a  sacrifice.  "  I 
did  not  do  it,  "  she  answered.  "  It  was  not  I ;  I  could  not  have  done 
it.     God  did  it  for  me.     He  took  me  up  and  carried  me  through  it.  " 

*  The  Infirmarian.  Sr.  Alphonso  Jenkins  I  think,  and  also  tl.e  physician  -who  attended 

the  community  of  Mobile,  in  her  last  sickness,  beini,'  informed  of  this,  examined  and  found 
it  was  true. 

a.  O  God,  from  whom  all  holy  desires,  right  counsels  and  just  works  jjroceed  g-ive  to 
Thy  servants  that  peace  which  the  world  cannot  give,  that  b  nh  our  hearts  being  devoted 
to  obey  Thy  commandments,  and  the  fear  of  our  enemies  being  removed,  our  times  by 
Thy  protection,  may  be  peaceful  th-ough  Jesus  Christ. 


92  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

MR.    AND    MRS.    BARBER    ENTER    RELIGION. 

In  May  or  June  of  1817,  my  parents  left  New  York  for  George- 
town. My  father  was  thirty-four,  my  mother  not  quite  twenty-eight 
years  of  age,  and  the  five  children  aged  eight,  seven,  five,  three  and 
myself  ten  months.  The  following  is  from  Mrs.  B.'s  pocket  journal : 
June  12th.  Archbishop  Neal(3  met  us  at  the  college  chapel,  and  con- 
cluded the  business  relative  to  my  going  to  the  Convent.  13th.  Mr. 
Barber  leaves  for  Rome.*  19th.  A  letter  from  Mr.  B.  21st.  I  came 
to  the  Convent  accompanied  by  Fathers  Grassi,  Kohlman,  Marshall 
and  Mr.  Ironside  (a  converted  minister).  25th... 28th.  Father  Grassi 
leaves  for  Rome.      I   wrote  to  Mr.   Barber.     29th.  . .  A   letter  from 

Mr.  Barber  (from  the  Bay).  July  1st.  I  commenced  a  novena  for  my 
husband,  Father  Grassi,  &c.,  July  2nd.  The  Visitation.  The  com- 
munity begin  a  novena  for  Fr.  G.  and  Mrs.  B.  On  arriving  in  George- 
town my  parents  were,  by  Rev.  Father  Fenwick,  invited  to  make  his 
mother's  house  their  home.  It  was  a  large  and  pleasant  mansion  near  the 
college.  This  devout  widow  lady  was  the  mother  of  four  sons,  three  of 
whom  had  entered  the  society.  No  ;  I  think  George,  the  youngest, 
was  still  with  her,  and  still  a  student  at  the  college,  of  which  his 
brother  had  been,  or  was  at  the  time,  rector.  Being  thus  almost  child- 
less, the  kind  lady  received  Samuel  and  myself  under  her  roof  and  acted 
a  mother's  part  towards  us  until  he  was  old  enough  to  go  to  college  and 
I  to  the  convent.  Ever  afterwards  she  seemed  to  regard  us  almost  as 
her  own,  came  frequently  to  the  convent  to  see  me  and  had  me  to  spend 
my  vacation  with  her,  which  last  were  indeed,  the  happiest  moments 
of  my  childhood.  Several  wealthy  Catholics  wished  to  adopt  us  ;  but 
my  mother  (my  father  v.as  absent)  so  far  from  appreciating  the  pro- 
posal was  filled  with  consternation  at  the  thought  of  its  being  a 
means  of  introducing  us  into  the  world.  In  after  years  I  asked  her 
what  her  sentiments  were  then.  "  I  felt  the  confidence,"  said  she, 
"that  Almighty  God  would  take  care  of  you  all  ;  not  because  you 
were  mine;  but  because  you  were  iwt  mine  or  any  human  being's,  but 
His.  I  had  left  you  ;  but  had  given  you  to  Him.  "  We  remained  at 
Mrs.   Fenwick's  till  the  21st  of  June.     This  day,  the   festival  of  St. 


*  Archbishop  Neale,  the  saintly  fmnder  of  the  Visitation  Convent,  died  June  15th, 
1817.  The  day  after  Archbishop  IS'eale's  funeral  Mrs.  Barber  entered  The  good  Arch- 
blshvop  had  about  five  days  previous  introduced  her  to  the  Sisters  in  the  asscmbl}'  room 
Sijing,  •'  Not  one  of  them  must  give  Mrs.  Barber  the  black  bean.  "  Mother  Theresa  now 
showed  the  i)ostulant  the  vault  in  which  their  lamented  fath^-r  was  enti-mbed  ;  and  as  they 
stood  looking  at  the  newly  walled  up  sejiulchre,  one  of  the  Sisters,  perhaps  to  cheer  the  ccn- 
versatlon  by  a  pleasantry,  told  the  postulant  she  would  have  to  pass  the  night  following 
in  the  vault.  "Well  "  replied  she,  "I  will  be  in  good  companj'. "  The  f)Oor  convert 
had  gone  through  too  many  tiials  to  be  daunted  at  the  prospect  of  one  night's  vigil.  " 


LIFE    OF  MRS.    JERUSIIA    BARBER.  98 

Aloysius,  the  Jesuits  conferred  on  my  mother  the  honor  of  invilinp^her 
to  dine  with  them  in  their  refectory  ;  which  privilege  as  they  told  her, 
had  never  before  been  granted  any  female.  It  was  her  farewell  din- 
ner. In  the  afternoon  Father  Grassi  and  several  others  accompanied 
her  to  the  convent  and  left  her  in  the  hands  of  the  venerable  Mother 
Theresa  Lalor  and  Sister  Agnes,  mistress  of  novices.  Iler  age  w^as  27 
years  11  months.  She  began  her  novitiate  with  great  fervour  ;  and 
such  was  her  anxiety  to  cast  off  her  worldly  attire  that  without  waiting 
for  the  ceremony  of  a  formal  investment,  she  made  herself  a  complete 
novice  costume,  and  put  it  on. 

The  community  were  not  a  little  surprised,  on  meeting  the  postu- 
lant, to  find  she  had  literally  taken  the  veil.  But  good  Mother  Theresa 
and  Sister  Agues,  mother  of  novices,  would  not  deprive  her  of  her 
newly  acquired  happiness,  and  w^ere  heartily  amused  at  her  simplicity 
and  earnestness.  Mrs,  B.  having  some  difficulty  in  adjusting  her  suit, 
and  being  at  a  loss  for  a  mirror,  supplied  the  def  cienc}"  by  attaching  her 
black  apron  behind  a  smiall  four-paned  window,  which  opened  on 
hinges  and  looked  into  the  garden.  Here  she  made  her  toilet  every 
morning,  unconscious  of  any  breach  of  conventual  rule,  and  uncon- 
scious of  being  seen  by  the  Sisters  who  happened  to  pass.      On  July 

23,  the  feast  of  St.  Ann,  shew^as  admitted  to  the  religious  habit,  taking 
the  name  of  Sister  M.  Augustine.  The  eloquent  Father  Baxter 
preached.  His  text  was  :  "  You  are  become  a  spectacle  to  God,  to 
angels  and  to  man.  "  My  mother's  utmost  wishes  as  far  as  regarded 
this  world  were  now^  realized.  Mr.  Barber,  in  his  novitiate  at  Rome  ; 
three  of  her  children  at  the  convent,  and  her  two  babies  in  kind  and 
safe  hands  ;  they  as  well  as  herself  ;  all  sheltered  from  the  world. . 
But  new  trials  awaited  her.  I  fell  sick  and  was  at  the  point  of 
death,  and  the  priests  and  Catholics  testified  great  anxiety  for  my 
recovery,  fearing  that  if  I  died  blame  would  be  thrown  on  religion  for 
permitting  my  parents  to  leave  an  infant  of  ten  months.  The  Jesuits 
offered  many  Masses  for  my  restoration,  and  Mrs.  Fenwick's  daugh- 
ter-in-law (who  had  a  young  baby  of  her  own)  nursed  me  until  I 
got  better.  I  was  so  small  and  puny,  they  carried  me  about  on  a  pil- 
low. Another  trial  followed.  Apprehensions  began  to  be  entertained 
by  some  of  the  religious  that  she  was  in  a  state  w±ich  required  her 
withdrawal  from  the  convent.  Groundless  as  these  apprehensions  were, 
my  poor  mother  was  obliged  to  yield  to  the  necessity  ;  and  three  months 
precisely  from  the  time  of  her  reception  of  the  holy  habit,  was  obliged 
to  take  it  off  and  return  to  the  world.      Her  note  book  says  :      "  Oct. 

24,  1817.  I  left  my  monetary  with  an  extreme  rer/ret,  and  arrived  in 
Baltimore  the  same  evening,  where  I  took  lodgings  with  Mrs.  Lewis. 
I  remained  till  about  the  14th  of  April  following,  i.  e.,  a  few  days  after 


94  CATHOLIC    MEMO  IBS. 

Easter,  when  I  returned  to  my  desired  and  longed-for  habitation.  " 
While  at  Mrs.  Le^vis's  two  strange  gentlemen,  one  day,  unexpectedly 

took  seats  at  the  dinner  table.   They  were  Capt.  Baker  and  Mr. . 

with  whom  my  father  had  crossed  the  sea.  They  talked  of  their  voy- 
a^^e  •  and  not  knowing  who  my  mother  was,  said  there  was  on  board  a 
gentleman,  recently  an  Episcopal  minister,  but  now  preparing  to  enter 
the  Jesuit  order,  who  having  left  home,  wife  and  children,  was  so 
overwhelmed  with  grief,  that  they  feared  that  he  would  die  before  he 
reached  his  journey's  end.  "  I  never  pitied  a  man  so  in  all  my  life,  " 
said  Capt.  B.  My  mother  was  now  almost  overwhelmed  in  her  turn, 
but  mastered  herself  sufficiently  till  dinner  was  over  ;  and  then  hastened 
to  the  church,  to  seek,  in  the  holy  advice  of  her  confessor,  that  consola- 
tion of  which  she  was  so  much  in  need. 

Rev.  Mr.  Moranville  received  her  with  paternal  kindness  ;  and 
thanks  to  the  words  of  salvation  that  flowed  from  the  lips  of  the  min- 
ister of  God,  she  returned  home  filled  with  new  courage  and  comfort, 
resolved  to  trust  more  than  ever  in  the  Divine  Goodness.  She  seldom 
went  out  except  to  church,  and  that  very  early  in  the  morning  ;  "  and 
when  I  did,  "  said  she  laughing,  "  the  boys  used  to  run  after  me  in  the 
street,  mv  old  bonnet  and  brown  cloak  were  such  sights.  "  I  asked  her 
if  sht  had  no  decent  clothes.  ' '  I  gave  away  all  my  best.  "  said  she, 
"  before  going  to  tl\e  convent,  thinking  I  would  have  no  use  for  them 
there.  After  taking  the  veil,  the  others  were  disposed  of  ;  and  expect- 
ing to  return  to  the  convent  in  a  few  weeks,  I  did  not  care  to  make  any 
new  outfit.  Indeed,  I  had  enough  to  think  of  besides  my  dress.  Be- 
sides I  lived  in  total  retirement.  "  My  father  on  receiving  intelligence 
of  my  mother's  position,  hastened  back  to  America  ;  but  on  his  return 
found  her  again  in  the  convent. 

Her  novitiate  was  one  of  severe  trials,  as  well  on  his  account,  as  on 
account  of  her  children.  The  community  was  in  the  utmost  poverty 
and  found  the  maintenance  of  the  latter  a  heavy  burden.  I  copy  from 
her  note  book  :  "  Aug.  13th,  1818.  I  had  an  interview  with  Father 
Cloriviere,  in  which  he  made  known  to  me  the  narrow  state  of  the 
finance  of  this  house,  and  suggested  that  my  brother  (so  she  called  my 
father)  should  become  a  secular  priest.  " 

"  Aug.  19th.  I  mentioned  it  to  Mother  and  Sister  Agnes,  expos- 
ing my  sentiments  and  apprehensions.  " 

"  Oct.  1st,  1818.  I  and  my  four  babes  have,  by  some  apparent 
oversight,  been  cast  upon  this  Institution.  " 

"The  charge  was  taken  with  a  full  expectation  of  remuneration. 
I  embraced  the  supposed  free  bounty  as  a  blessing  sent  from  heaven 
through  the  channel  of  the  holy  church,  considering  it  to  be  deliberately 
conferred  upon  us  by  these  her  chosen  children.      But  the  mystery  is 


LIFE    OF  MRS.    JERUSIIA    BARBER  93 

at  length  solved.  Providence  has  withdra^vn  the  veil,  and  I  behold 
myself  and  family  feeding  on  the  bread  of  dependence,  necessarily  con- 
tinued because  ignorantly  and  involuntarily  commenced.  Though  ^vc 
may  have  no  just  claim  of  the  Institution  of  which  we  arc  in  some 
sort,  members,  si  ill  oiu-  children  have  a  claim  upon  us.  Now,  what  is 
this  claim  and  how  far  does  it  extend  ? "  To  explain  my  parents  state 
of  utter  destitution  I  must  mention  the  following  causes  :  My  mother 
was  the  youngest  of  a  large  and  once  wealthy  family  ;  but  her  father 
having  a  year  or  so  before  his  death,  gone  security  for  a  friend,  lost 
nearly  all  he  had,  and  left  his  youngest  child  unprovided  for.  The 
others  were,  I  think,  all  settled.  Not  long  after  this  she  married  my 
father,  who,  living  up  to  his  means,  was  not  prepared  for  the  change 
of  circumstances  which  followed . 

She,  on  entering  the  community  at  Georgetown,  had,  of  course, 
no  suspicious  of  the  extreme  poverty  under  which  they  were  suffering- ; 
attributing  their  severe  manner  of  life  and  voluntary  self-denial  to  the 
austerity  of  monastic  rule.  She  has  often  told  me  that  she  did  not  ex- 
pect to  live  more  than  three  or  four  years,  supposing  that  in  this  lencth 
of  time  the  vigils,  fasts  and  hardships,  would  bring  her  to  her  term.  Her 
journal  goes  on  :  "  Oct.  16,  1818.  Brother  Heirome  (my  father) 
comes  to  the  parlor  sick  and  dejected.  All  is  uncertain  and  fluctuatiuir. 
He  is  preparing  to  go  into  the  country  with  his  father  for  his  health. 
His  superiors  specify  no  time  for  him  to  make  his  vows,  nor  do 
they  give  any  encouragement  to  suppl}^  the  necessary  means.  "  "  Oct. 
17th.  At  the  request  of  our  kind  Mother  (Theresa)  the  community,  to- 
day, offered  their  communion  for  him.  Mother,  Sister  Agnes  and  the 
three  children  (by  the  goodness  of  Almighty  God,  and  the  tender  affec- 
tion of  my  superiors'  hearts)  has  commenced  a  novena  with  me  for  the 
relief  of  his  necessities,  if  it  be  agreeable  to  the  holy  will  of  our  dear 
Lord.  "  "  Oct.  22d,  1818,  Friday  evening.  I  entered  'Retreat'  with 
the  other  novices.  "  "  Oct.  27th.  Wednesday.  I  made  a  confession 
of  my  whole  life  to  our  spiritual  father,  Father  Cloriviere,  at  10  o'clock 
A.  M,  Mother  Agnes  tells  me  that  having  been,  when  aged  about 
two  years,  taken  to  the  convent  to  see  my  mother,  I  did  not  know  her 
and  refused  to  go  to  her.  She  extended  her  arms  to  take  me,  those 
present  telling  me  she  was  my  mother.  "  No,  "  said  I,  "  she  is  not,  " 
and  persisted  in  refusing  to  leave  my  nurse.  When  wc  were  gone, 
my  mother  retired  to  her  cell  to  give  vent  to  her  grief.  Sister  Agnes! 
who  had  been  present,  and  was  then  mistress  of  novices,  suspectino- 
how  the  case  stood,  followed  shortly  after,  and  found  Sister  M.  Angus'^ 
tine  weeping  bitterly.  "What  makes  you  cry  ?"  said  she.  ""^ly 
God  !  "  exclaimed  the  novice,  "to  think  my  own  child  does  not  know 
me  !  "  bursting  again  into  tears,   "  Well  !  why  did  you  give  her  up  ?  " 


96  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Sister  Agnes  spoke  thus  through  kiuclncss,  that  by  diverting  to  the 
motive  of  her  sacrifice,  she  might  bring  alleviation  that  earth  could  not 
supply. 

On  February  23d,  1820,  nearly  three  years  after  this  separation,  my 
parents  met  in  the  Georgetown  Convent  Chapel  to  make  their  vows. 
My  mother  first  went  through  the  formula  of  profession  in  the  Visita- 
tion ;  and  then  my  father  pronounced  his  vows  according  to  the  rite  of 
the  Jesuit  Order.  Their  five  children  were  present  ;  Maiy,  the  oldest, 
being  ten,  and  I,  the  youngest,  only  two  and  a  half  years. 

Mother  Cathrine  was  at  this  time  Superior  ;  but  dying  the  Decem- 
ber following,  Mother  M  de  Sales  was  elected,  who,  in  December 
of  1821  was  succeeded  by  Mother  Agnes  Brent  My  mother  had  hith- 
erto been  employed  in  the  school  ;  but  Mother  Agnes  appointed  her 
directress,  and  at  the  same  time  ordered  her  to  train  some  of  the 
younger  Sisters  for  the  duties  of  the  academy,  A  better  system  was 
organized  ;  and  under  the  combined  zeal,  and  prudence  of  Mother 
Agnes  and  Father  Cloriviere — the  latter  of  whom  held  classes  of  French 
and  drawing,  the  little  academy  began  to  prosper.*  I  know  nothing 
more  of  this  part  of  Sister  M.  Aagusline's  life,  except  that  she  contin- 
ued to  suffer  inexpressibly  on  account  of  her  children  ;  feeling  them  to 
be  a  burden  on  the  community  in  its  state  of  poverty,  and  knowing  the 
opposition  of  some  of  the  Sisters  to  their  remaining,  v»^e  were  neces- 
sarily poorly  clad  ;  and  she  had  told  me  that  many  a  time  she  has  sat 
up  nearly  half  the  night  patching  the  children's  clothes  (for  she  at  this 
time  had  charge  of  the  school)  and  knitting  stockings  for  them  ;  and 
that  on  cold  winter  mornings  when  the  girls  were  going  to  3Iass,  she 
used  frequently  to  take  down  from  the  window  an  old  baize  curtain  to 
throw  about  Abey's  or  Susan's  shoulders,  they  having  no  shawl  or 
cloak.     I  just  now  asked  mother  (for  I  am  now  writing  in  her  roomf) 


A  Washinglon,  D.  C.  paper.  The  Catholic,  in  its  issue  of  June  24,  188'2,  has  the 
following  notice  of  Sister  Barber : 

*  '•  Among  the  most  remarkable  Sister*  cf  Georgetown — Visitation  Convent— stands 
Mary  Austin  Barber.  When  Mrs  Barber  entered  Georgetown  Convent,  the  school  was 
sadly  in  nerd  of  such  a  member.  She  had  received  a  superior  education  and  her  methods 
of  instruction  were  so  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  that  the  children  under  her  care  pro- 
gressed ra[)idly,  and  as  a  result  the  school  began  to  increase,  and  the  prospect-;  of  the  con- 
vent to  brighten.  She  was  a  woman  of  superhuman  energy.  She  taught  the  children  in  the 
school  during  the  day,  and  during  recreation  instructed  the  Sisters,  that  they  might  become 
better  teachers.  She  put  her  whole  soul  in  what  she  was  doing,  often  forirot  herself,  but 
never  prayer.  In  her  case  prayer  might  truly  have  been  called  the  life  of  the  soul.  She  did 
nothing  without  prayer,  and  she  strictly  fulfilled  the  precept  of  our  SaAiour  to  pray  always. 
When  made  directress  she  would  often  say  to  those  near  her  :  •  Go,  pray  that  I  maj'  attend 
to  this  business  properly.  '  The  school  continued  to  prosper  imder  Sisier  Marj' Austin's 
care,  and  in  1S;28  it  bore  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  in  the  land." 

t  Note.— This  was  at  Bishop  Quiclan's  request,  written  for  him  about  ten  days  before 
ray  mother's  death. 


LIFE    OF  MRS.    JERUSIIA    BARBER  97 

if  she  had  not  (old  me  (hat  the  girls  used  frcqiienOy  to  give  us  their 
old  dresses. 

"Nearly  all  your  clothes,  "  said  she  "  were  made  out  of  Avhat  the 
other  girls  had  cast  away.  " 

Polly  Spalding  adopted  one  of  you  (and  some  of  the  girls  did  the 
same  occasionally)  and  made  you  new  dresses  out  of  her  old  ones. 

AVhen  you  were  in  w\nnt  of  shoes  we  used  to  go  to  the  pile  where 
the  girls'  old  ones  were  thrown  away  and  select  the  best  from  among 
them  for  you.  Sometimes  they  were  so  large  that  you  could  hardly 
walk  in  them.  You  had  not  always  sheets  on  your  beds  ;  and  in  win- 
ter, when  your  bed  clothes  were  insufHcient,  I  used  to  cover  you  with 
the  other  girls  cloaks  and  shawls.  Many  times,  when  you  four,  as  well 
as  the  other  pupils,  were  quite  ill,  I  had  to  sit  up  with  you,  secretly 
all  night,  and  resume  \nj  usual  classes  and  duties  next  day,  Once 
when  Mary  had  the  measles  very  badly,  I  could  get  no  proper  nourish- 
ment for  her.* 

These  and  other  things  w^re  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the  house, 
and  not  to  any  unkindness  on  the  part  of  (he  charitable  Sisters,  neverthe- 
less they  kept  my  mind  in  a  constant  state  of  suffering,  good  Father 
Cloriviere,  old  Mother  Theresa  and  Sister  Agnes  were,  however,  very 
kind  and  did  for  you  all  in  their  power.  ' '  I  would  have  put  myself  " 
added  she,  "under  the  feet  of  any  one  who  would  do  anything  for  my 
children.  " 

In  my  mother's  note  book  I  find  a  copy  of  one  of  my  father's 
letters  to  her,  written  about  this  time.  I  will  here  transcribe  a  part  of 
it: 

Claremont,  March  25,  1824.* 
Dear  Sister  Augustine : 

Yours  dated  Feb.  ITth,  was  received  to-day.  You  complain  of 
my  silence.  I  wrote  to  you  some  time  in  November.  About  middle 
of  December  I  left  here  for  Canada,  where  I  remained  most  of  tlie  win- 
ter. From  Montreal  I  wrote  to  Mary.  It  is  a  week  since  I  returned  to 
this  place.  So  much  respecting  my  silence.  With  regard  to  your  let- 
ters I  have  to  say  that  all  you  mention  have  come  to  hand,  and  if  mine 
have  not  reached  you  there  is  fault  scmewhere  ;  possibly  in  the  post- 
office  as  is  probably  the  case.      Why  do  you  indulge  in  those  anxieties 

*  Such  was  the  poverty  of  the  commuriit}-  at  this-  time,  that  being  in  want  of  the  very 
necessaries  of  life,  they  had  determined  on  dispersion,  when  the  providential  ariival  of 
the  La  Sailas  caused  a  change  in  the  plans, 

*  On  the  second  day  of  January  of  this  same  year.  Rct.  Virgil  Earber  visited  the 
Ursuline  of  Quebec,  and  informed  them  that  he  was  then  engaged  in  building  a  small 
church  for  his  convert?  fit  Claj-emopt,  New  Hampshire.  (Annals  of  the  Ursuline  of  Que- 
bec.) 

7 


98  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

which  your  repeated  representations  of  the  embarrassment  of  your 
community  indicate  ?  Give  yourself,  my  dear  sister,  no  uneasiness. 
Almighty  God  will  always  provide  for  them  that  love  Him.  And  it  is 
a  very  small  part  of  my  concern  whether  he  will  take  care  of  us,  in 
compcr'sou  of  my  solicitude  that  we  by  love  and  obedience,  render 
ourselves  worthy  of  his  fatherly  protection.  Teach  the  children  to 
pronounce  daily,  this  aspiration  :  '  My  God  and  my  All  ! '  Thus  far 
I  have  written  without  having  looked  at  your  former  letter,  which  I 
have  net  time  to  read  before  closing  this  ;  but  I  will  answer  them  all 
particularly  in  a  few  days.  My  love  to  dear  3Iary  and  the  rest  of  the 
children.  I  will  write  a  letter  to  her  and  Abey  as  well  as  to  Susan  and 
Josephine,  and  another  to  Samuel  in  a  vreek  or  ten  days.  My  kindest 
respects  to  the  Rev.  Father  Cloriviere,  to  the  good  Rev.  Mother,  and 
all  the  devout  Sisters.  Tell  them  I  beg  the  continuance  of  their  pray- 
ers.    Pray  for  me  yourself.     Your  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

Y.  H.  BARBER,  S.  J. 

In  the  autumn  of  1825,  my  father  came  south  to  be  present  at  the 
consecration  of  Father  B.  Fenwick,  Bishop-elect  of  Boston, — the  same 
who  had  received  him  into  the  church.  This  diocese  then  compre- 
hended all  the  Xew  England  States,  and  my  father  was  one  cf  the  three 
priests  who  formed  the  entire  ecclesiastical  force  of  the  Xortheast. 
There  was  only  one  priest  in  the  city  cf  Boston,  one  in  Maine,  and  one 
(my  father)  in  New  Hampshire. 

Bishop  England  and  himself  accompanied  the  newly  consecrated 
prelate  to  his  Episcopal  city,  which  they  reached  Dec.  3d.  The  fol- 
lowing day  (Sunday,)  the  ceremony  of  the  installation  took  place,  and 
my  father  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  Bishop  Fenwick  as  deacon  in 
Lis  first  pontifical  Mass.     But  I  must  go  back  a  little. 

While  Bishop  Fenwick  and  my  father  were  in  Georgetown,  they 
made  arrangements  for  Mary's  reception  at  the  Ursuline  Convent,  Bcs- 
ton  and  Abey's  at  Quebec,  Canada.  My  father  then  met  his  wife  and 
children  all  together  for  the  last  time.  It  was  a  tearful  and  sorrowful 
meeting  and  parting,  Next  morning,  Nov.  loth,  my  father  joined  the 
two  Bishops  for  the  North.  In  April,  according  to  agreement,  Mary 
and  Abey  left  for  their  final  destination.  They  travelled  as  far  as  Bal- 
timore with  a  widow  lady,  ]\Irs.  Jason  Jenkins,  at  whose  house  they 
remained  some  days.  (This  Mrs.  Jenkins  afterwards  entered  the 
Yisitaticn  Convent  in  Mobile,  became  Superior  of  the  house,  then 
infirmarian,  and  nursed  my  mother  in  her  last  illness.  She  was 
a  person  of  great  sanctity).  Arriving  in  Boston  Mary  received 
the  veil  on  August  loth,  and  Abey  in  Quebec  on  September 
11th,   1826,  and  were  professed  on  the  same  day  in  1828   taking  in 


LIFE    OF  MRS.    JERU8IIA    BARBER.  00 

religion  the  names  of  St.  Benedict  and  St  Francis-Xavier.  On  the 
feast  of  St.  Augustin,  1827,  Susan  and  myself  left  Georgcto-wn  for  the 
north  ;  so  that  none  remained  with  mother  except  Samuel  at  the  col- 
lege ;  who  also,  not  long  after,  entered  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  at  White 
Marsh,  where  he  made  his  vows,  Aug  10,  1832,  and  immediately  de- 
parted for  Rome.  On  Sept.  22d,  the  feast  of  the  Seven  Dolors,  1839, 
he  was  ordained  priest,  and  on  the  24th  (our  L.  cf  Mercy)  celebrated 
his  first  Mass.  But  to  resume  my  narrative,  Mary— in  religion  Sister 
M.  Benedict— took  the  religious  habit  in  the  Ursuline  Convent  at  Bos- 
ton ;  and  Abey— Sister  Francis-Xavier— in  Ursuline  Convent  of  Que- 
bec. Two  years  after  Susan  and  Josephine  left  Georgetown  ;  the  one 
for  Three  Rivers  and  the  other  for  the  Ursuline  Convent  in  Boston 
where  Mary,  the  eldest,  was  shortly  afterwards  professed.  Samuel 
made  his  vows  in  the  Jesuit  Novitiate  at  White  Marsh,  Aug.  15,  1832, 
and  during  the  same  summer  left  for  Rome,  in  company  with  Father 
McSherry  and  his  fellow  novice  and  namesake,  Father  Samuel  Mul- 
ledy.  On  September  22d,  the  feast  of  the  Seven  Dolors,  he  was 
ordained  priest  ;  and  on  the  24th,  Our  Lady  of  Mercy,  celebrated  his 
first  Mass,  1839.  I  accompanied  the  foundation  to  Kaskaskia  in  1833. 
My  mother  had  now  none  of  her  children  with  her  ;  but  my  father  was 
generally  at  some  of  the  houses  in  the  Maryland  province,  and  she  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  him.  She  has  several  times  told  me  that 
she  attributed  the  origin  of  the  religious  vocation  of  her  whole  family 
to  the  following  causes  :  "  Previous  to  my  marriage,"  said  she,  "  being 
extremely  anxious  to  obtain  the  consent  of  my  family  to  the  union, 
and  apprehending  opposition  from  several  of  them,  I  had  recourse  to 
God,  and  repeatedly  promised  Him  that  if  lie  would  gi-ant  your  father 
to  me,  I  would  give  him  back  again,  and  all  my  children  likewise,  if  I 
had  any.  Twenty  times  a  day  did  I  throw  myself  on  my  knees  and 
reiterate  this  promise,  not  comprehending  fully  the  purport  of  wdiat  I 
said  nor  imagining  the  sense  in  which  God  heard  it  ;  but  I  have  always 
believed  that  this  promise  was  the  foundation  of  the  religious  vocation 
of  our  family.  "  On  the  17th  of  April,  1833,  the  colony  departed  from 
Goorgetow^n  tor  Kaskaskia.  It  consisted  of  Mother  Agnes  Brent ;  Sr. 
Genevieve  King;  Sr.  Helen  Flanigan  ;  Sr.  Gonzaga  Jones  ;  Sr.  Isabella 
King  ;  Sr.  Ambrose  Cooper  ;  Sr.  Rose  Murray,  and  an  out-sister  who 
left.  There  were  no  steam  cars  in  those  days  ;  but  horse  cars  were 
running  between  Baltimore  and  Frederick.  On  arriving  at  the  depot 
in  the  latter  city,  my  father  met  us  ;  and  here  I  saw  him  and  went  to 
confession  to  him  for  the  last  time.  We  arrived  at  Kaskaskia  on  Mav 
3d,  "  the  finding  of  the  holy  cress,  "  and  I  entered  the  novitiate  that 
summer. 

^'  In  the  summer  of  1836  my  mother  was  sent  out  to  I^askaskia, 


100  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

The  house  was  much  in  -wtint  of  members.  It  had  been  established 
three  years,  and  as  j'ct  only  one  postulant  had  entered  and  she  v/as  an 
iuilrra  member  from  the  Sisters  cf  Charity.  What  rendered  the  mat- 
ter worse  was  that  there  seemed  scarcely  a  hope  of  our  obtaining  mem- 
bers in  this  "  out-of-the-way  pl:;ce  "  either  from  the  town  itself,  vrhich 
was  unpromising  in  a  religious  point  of  vievr,  or  from  a  distance,  Kas- 
kaskia  being  difUcult  of  access,  and  but  little  known,  except  to  the 
Creole  population  born  there.  Rev.  Ph.  Borgna,  Bishop  Rosatti's 
Yicar  General,  went  on  to  Georgetown  to  ask  for  assistance  ;  and  as 
directed,  named  Sister  M.  Augustine  in  particular.  31.  Juliana  con- 
sented, and  Father  Borgna,  afraid  of  losing  his  prize,  hastened  off 
with  her  to  Baltimore,  left  her  there  with  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and 
then  returned  to  Georgetown  to  try  to  get  more  ;  but  in  this  was  unsuc- 
cessful. Meantime  my  father,  who  was  stationed  at  Frederick,  having 
received  her  letter  informing  him  of  all  that  had  taken  place,  Vv^cnt  on 
immediately.  Not  finding  my  mother  at  Georgetown,  he  started  for 
Baltimore  and  on  reaching  the  city  made  his  way  to  the  asylum,  where 
his  cousin.  Sister  Genevieve  Tyler,  was  Sister  Servant.  My  mother  knew 
his  ring  at  the  door,  and  requested  Sister  G.  to  inform  him  that  she  could 
not  see  him  out  of  her  convent  without  an  express  permission  from  the 
xirclibishop.  He  withdrev,'  and  did  not  return  that  night ;  but  having 
obtained  the  permission  returned  next  morning  and  had  a  long  inter- 
view with  her.  This  last  sevcrence  from  her  seemed  to  open  a  new 
wound  in  his  soul,  and  to  renew  the  pangs  of  former  years.  Though 
separated,  he  had  had  the  comfort  of  seeing  her  at  the  grate,  and  feeling 
himself  sustained  spiritually  and  mentally  by  the  words  of  holy  and 
cheerful  encouragement  she  spoke,  as  well  as  by  her  promise  of  pra}'- 
crs  in  his  behalf.  This  had  been  to  him  a  stay,  even  in  the  world  ; 
but  novr  it  must  be  relinquished  too.  It  was  a  hard  trial  to  him,  during 
the  last  ten  years  cf  his  life  ;  and  to  her  likewise.  Once,  while  at 
Georgetown,  she  got  permission  from  the  Archbishop  and  Mother  N. 
to  make  a  general  confession  of  her  whole  life  to  him,  thinking  that 
she  could  speak  to  him  more  freely  and  importune  him  with  more 
questions  and  explanations  than  she  could  venture  to  trouble  any  other 
priest  v/ith.  She  accordingly  prepared  and  wrote  her  confession  and 
on  his  next  visit  invited  him  into  the  church  under  some  pretext  or 
other,  without  mentioning  her  real  object.  When  they  reached  the 
Sacristy,  she  informed  him  of  the  permission  she  had  obtained  and  the 
preparation  she  had  made.  lie  replied  that  he  would  listen  to  all 
she  had  to  say,  and  answer  all  her  questions  ;  but  not  by  way  of 
confession  ;  and  I  believe  he  satisfied  her  fully.  She  remained,  I  think, 
about  a  week  in  Baltimore,  during  v.hich  time  w\\  father  visited  her 
frequently  until  Father  Borgna's  return  from  Georgetown,  when  they 


LIFE    OF  MRS.    JERU8IIA    BARBER.  101 

took  tlieir  Inst,  last  adieu,  and  my  mollier  resumed  her  journey  towards 
the  far  west. 

Fatlier  Eorgna  next  took  her  to  Emmittsljurgh,  \vhere  slie  remained 
several  days,  at  St.  Joseph's,  having  the  happiness  of  making  acquaint- 
ance with  the  saintly  Mother  Kose  and  other  members  of  that  edifying 
house.     She  did  not  reach  Kaskaskia  until  Sept.  24,  1836. 

"  a.  In  the  summer  of  1848  our  house  at  Mobile  being  greatly  in 
need  of  members  applied  to  ours  for  assistance.  My  mother  was  one 
of  the  four  sent  thither.  In  the  winter  of  1855-6  a  severe  attack  of  ill- 
ness brought  her  to  death's  door.  Her  recovery  was  considered  next 
to  miraculous.  But  before  this  occurred  letters  came  from  Mobile 
requesting  that  I  might  be  sent  thither  to  supply  her  place.  In  those 
days  no  railway  route  was  in  existence;  and  the  river  being  closed  I  could 
not  travel  until  after  Easter.  On  arriving  I  found  my  mother  up  and 
on  duty.  She  had  organized  a  class  of  young  Sisters  to  whom,  as 
formerly  at  Georgetown  and  Kaskaskia,  she  devoted  daily  a  portion  of 
her  time— chiefly  the  recreation  hour  after  supper.  In  a  few  years 
they  became  accomplished  teachers,  and  were  able  to  dismiss  the 
seculars,  for  a  time  employed  with  so  much  expense  and  inconven- 
ience. 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Francis- Xavier,  December  3,  1857,  Sister  M. 
Augustine  was  taken  with  her  death  sickness,  a  violent  cold,  which, 
falling  on  her  lungs  terminated  into  consumption.  For  two  years  she 
was  confined  to  the  infirmary,  yet  was  seldom  obliged  to  keep  her  bed. 
She  usually  sat  in  her  arm  chair  all  day  long  reading  and  praying.  So 
accustomed  was  she  to  rise  at  4.30  or  5  that  not  even  in  this  her  last 
sickness,  could  she  divest  herself  of  the  habit  ;  but  was  generally 
seen  at  her  place  in  the  choir,  at  the  reading  of  the  points  for  medita- 
tion and  during  Mass  ;  the  choir  being  on  a  level  with  the  infirmary  so 
that  the  sick  could  easily  resort  thither.  During  the  last  six  months, 
however,  she  was  confined  to  her  bed  and  during  the  last  three  quite 
feeble  and  helpless.  The  infirmarian  (Sr.  Alphonsa)  attended  her  with 
a  charity  truly  maternal.  All  the  Sisters  did  the  same  ;  and  my  mother 
often  spoke  of  it  to  me  as  a  motive  of  gratitude  to  heaven  and  to  them. 
"  I  have  been  sick,"  would  she  say,  "these  five,  ten,  eighteen,— twenty 
months,  and  our  good  Sisters  wait  upon  me  as  if  I  were  a  prin- 
cess. Never  have  I  anywhere  witnessed  such  charity— never  seen 
the  sick  so  treated  !  Oh  !  had  you  been  here  to  witness  their 
care  of  Sister  F.  de  Sales  who  was  for  five  years  an  invalid,  par- 
tially insane,    and  for  months  nearly  a  leper  from  head  to  foot  !  " 


a.    Sister  M.  Augustine  lived  in  the  convent  at  Kaskaskia  from  24th  September,  1836, 
till  the  spring  of  1844,  and  in  the  convent  of  St.  Louis  from  1844  till  1848. 


102  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Sister  M.  Augustine  beiug  for  the  last  live  months,  so  feeble  as  to  be 
unable  to  rise  alone  or  to  help  herself,  the  infirmarian  gave  her  a  litlle 
bell  by  which  to  call  herself  or  Sister  Aloysia  who  slept  in  an  adjoining 
infirmary.  To  the  best  of  my  recollection,  the  second  ring  was  never 
needed  ;  and  although  the  bell  was  tingled  several  times  every  night 
never  was  a  sign  of  annoyance  betrayed  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  my 
mother  attempted  to  apologize,  good  Sister  Aloysia  failed  not  to 
silence  her  by  an  affectionate  railery  or  repartee  ;  as  if  her  patient  were 
conferring  instead  of  receiving  a  favor.  Once  or  twice  I  expressed  to 
Mother  Gonzaga  O'Driscoll  my  regret  at  the  txouble  my  mother's  long, 
protracted  illness  gave.  "  No  trouble  whatever,  "  said  she.  "  It  is  a 
great  honor  to  us  to  have  her  die  in  our  community.  "  The  saintly 
infirmarian  instead  of  tiring  of  her  charge  from  length  of  time,  appeared 
to  become  more  tender  and  attached  ;  watching  her  as  a  mother  would 
watch  her  child.  I  frequently  heard  her  speak  to  the  Sisters  in  praise 
of  her  patient,  relating  to  them  what  she  had  said  and  done — and  with 
evident  pride  and  pleasure.  Once  when  they  had  gone  at  the  "  quarter 
bell  "  to  see  her,  and  finding  her  too  ill  to  speak,  had  retired  to  a  cor- 
ner of  the  infirmary  to  speak  in  whispers,  I  overheard  Sister  Aloysia 
extolling  her  to  them  ;  telling  them  of  her  patience,  etc.      "  Sister  P. 

was  patient,  "  said  she,  "  Sisters  N and  K were  patient ;  but  I 

have  never  seen  patience  like  that  of  Sister  Augustine."  Words  of 
greater  comfort  never  reached  my  ears.  Wishing  afterwards  to  know 
what  value  I  might  attach  to  them,  I  asked  Sister  A.  (without  telling 
her  why)  how  long  she  had  been  infirmarian  I  Her  answer  was  :  "All 
my  life.  I  took  care  of  the  dck  in  the  world  :  and  in  religion  have 
nearly  always  had  charge  of  them  ;  in  Georgetown  as  v/ell  as  here  in 
Mobile.  "  This  lady  w^as  a  widow,  and  in  more  than  one  particular, 
imitated  the  holy  foundress  of  the  Visitation. 

In  the  early  part  of  December,  1859,  Bishop  Quinlan  arrived  in  Mo- 
bile. Archbishop  Purcell  and  several  other  Bishops  accompcnied  him, 
to  assist  at  his  installation.  It  was  dusk  when  they  arrived  ;  but  not- 
withstanding the  lateness  of  the  hour,  they  drove  out  to  the  convent 
that  same  night,  and  our  children  welcomed  them  with  some  verses 
and  music.  While  these  were  being  prepared  the  Bishops  went  to  the 
infirmary  to  see  my  mother,  and  Archbishop  Purcell  (as  the  room  was 
crowded)  sat  on  the  foot  of  her  bed  and  conversed  with  her  some  time. 
She  afterwards  told  me  that  his  words  had  imparted  to  her  great  spirit- 
ual comfort  and  assistance.  On  meeting  our  good  Bishop  Quinlan,  I 
b  irst  into  tears.  He  guessed  the  cause  and  said  to  me  :  "  Sister,  dcn't 
weep,  I  will  do  for  you  and  your  mother  all  I  can.  "  Most  fully  did 
he  redeem  his  promise.  Whenever  he  came  to  the  parlor  he  went  in 
to  see  her  ;  and  so  kind  was  he  that  his  very  presence  conveyed  com- 
fort.   It  was  owing  to  his  kindness  that  she  received  the  holy  Viaticum 


LIFE   OF  MRS.    JEEUSIIA    B ARBEIT.  lOS 

on  Christmas,  and  again  on  New  Year's  day,  the  day  of  her  deatli. 
The  Bishop  happening  to  meet  the  confessor  in  the  inlirmary— it  was 
Christmas  Eve,  I  think,  said  to  him  :      "  Father  D.,  you  will  give  her 
Holy  Communion  to-morrow.  "     "  My  Lord,  it  is  only  three  days  since 
I  administered  to  her  by  way  of  Viaticum.  "      It  was  then  custom- 
ary to  give  it  only  once  in  eiglit   days.      But    tlie    Bishop   replied  : 
"  Nevertheless,  let  her  receive  the  holy  Viaticum  again  to-morrow.  " 
Eight  days  afterwards  it  was  brought  to  her   again,  and  for  the  last 
time.      She  had,  however,  desired  and  expected  to  die  on  Christmr.s. 
The  infirmarian  seemed  to  anticipate  the  same  ;  but  Mother  Gonzaga 
said  :     "  No,  no  !  she  must  not  die  on  Chrstmas  Day.    It  would  be  un- 
charitable ! "     Then  the  saintly  old  infirmarian  bent  over  her  and  said  : 
"Nevermind  !  Sister  M.  Augustine,  may  be  our  Lord  will  take  you  on 
His  own  circumcision.      It  would  be  a  beautiful  feast  to  die  on,  the 
day  when  He  first  shed  His  blood  for  us  and  took  the  nam^e  of  Jesus. 
I  will  ask  Him  to  take  you  then.  "     Her  petition  was  granted.    On  the 
morning  of  Jan.  1st  Father  D.  (whose  house  was  only  a  few  rods  dis- 
tant) called  several  times  inquiring  how  she  was.      Some  thought  tlie 
patient  would  live  till  morning,  but  he  charged  them  to  send  for  him 
in  case  of  a  change.     Sister  Aloysia  sat  up  with  her.      She  made  the 
infirmarian  and  myself  retire.      I  lay  down  in  my  clothes  ;  but  was 
soon  called  up  again.      My  mother  lay  speechless,  but  conscious,  and 
Sister  Aloysia  repealed  aspirations  aloud  by  her.      Before  we  arrived 
she  had  attempted  to  say  something  to  Sister  Aloysia,  but  her  speech 
was  unintelligible.     '' I  icant,"  was  all  Sister  A.  could  understand. 
The  latter  began  to  guess  ;  and  mentioned  everything  and  every  body 
she  imagined  her  patient  could  want.      "  Do  you  want  Father  D.  ?  " 
"  No.  "     "Do  you  want  Sister  Alphonsa  ?   Mother  Gonzaga,  Josey  ?  " 
"  No.  "     The  dying  Sister  again  repeated  :  "  I  want,  "   but  could  get 
no  further.      Sister  A.  made  new  efforts  to  find  out  what  she  wanted  ; 
but  seeing  them  useless  and  a  cause  of  fatigue  to  the  sufferer,  she  said 
to  her  :      "  Sister  M.  Augustin'e,  you  have  made  many  sacrifices  to 
God  ;  make  this  one  ;  I  cannot  understand  you.  "     At  this  my  mother 
desisted  from  any  further  attempt ;  but  seemed  to  acquiesce  to  the  sug- 
gestion of  her  good  nurse.     Farther  De  Gaultiers  now  entered  in  great 
haste.     At  first  he  thought  she  was  dead,  and  went  over  to  the  bed  to 
ascertain.     Another  heave  of  the  chest  told  him  of  the  contrary.     "  It 
is  not  too  late,"  said  he,  "  she  is  living"  ;  and  snatching  up  the  Ritual, 
which  Sister  Aloysia  had  taken  the  precaution  to  leave  open  on  the 
table,  read  the  absoultion  in  arii^ulo  mortis.  One  minute  afterwards  she 
was  no  more.  She  died  at  11  o'clock  forty  minutes  P.  M.  on  Jan.  1, 18C0. 
R.  I.  P.  on  Jan.  3d.     Bishop  Quinlan,  Father  Pellicier  (now  Bishop  of 
San  Antonio,  Texas)  and  Father  De  Gaultiers  sang  a  Mass  of  Requiem, 
and  Sister  M.  Augustine  was  buried  in  the  Convent  cemetery." 


104  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


Letters  of  Sister  Mary  St.  Augustine 


TO     SISTER    MARY    JOSEPHINE. 

Georgetown,  Jan.  19,  183G. 
My  c>arly  be'oved  child  : 

I  must  here  copy  the  letter  I  received 

frora  Father  Koh'raan.  I  do  it  the  more  \\illingly  as  it  comes  from  a 
Saiut.  Besides,  it  shows  how  much  we  are  indebted  to  Almighty  God 
for  all  he  has  done  for  us,  and  how  ungrateful  we  shall  be  if  we  do  not 
exert  ourselves  to  make  the  little  return  of  which  our  poor  nature  is 
capable. 

"  Much  revered  Sister  : 

Long,  too  long,  have  I  postponed  answering  the  many  and 
truly  interesting  favcrs  with  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me. 
I  mean  that  of  January  9th  and  May  24,  1835,  in  which  you  had  the 
kindness  to  convey  to  me  a  detailed  notice  of  the  admirable  ways 
through  which  the  Lord  conducted  you,  together  with  your  dear  chil- 
dren, to  the  happy  state  which  at  this  moment  you  and  they  enjoy  ;  and 
then  of  the  interesting  entertainnu'Ut  which  the  thrice  hajipy  Sister 
Stanislaus  had  with  her  worthy  father,  and  finally,  of  the  second  mirac- 
ulous cure  of  Sister  Beatrice.  This  last  I  begged  our  dear  Samuel  to 
translate  (into  Italian)  for  ihe  perusal  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Yisitaticn  in 
this  city,  who  were  very  much  edified  at  its  contents,  and  hence  a  desire 
to  correspond  with  your  Convent.  How  much  matter  for  deep  and 
joyful  contemplation  is  contained  in  these  your  kind  communications. 
The  history  of  your  own  worthy  family,  from  its  beginning  till  now, 
seems  indeed  to  be  a  picus  romance,  and  nothing  can  give  me  greater 
delight  than  to  rehearse  it  everywhere.  Your  dear  son,  being  a  model 
of  religious  perfection,  is  much  beloved  by  everybody.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  his  strong-minded  companion,  Samuel  3Iulledy.  Your  wor- 
thy mother  and  sisters  shall  not  be  forgotten  by  me  when  at  the  altar. 
The  heroism  with  which  you  gave  yourself,  together  with  your  v.hole 
family,  up  to  Almighty  God,  has  been,  I  am  sure,  the  source  of  these 
extraordinary  blessings  which  the  Lord  has  bestowed  on  it,  and  will,  no 
doubt,  powerfully  move  Almighty  God  to  fulfil  your  wishes  in  the 
spesdy  conversion  of  your  dear  mother  and  sister.  A  mother  and  sister 
of  so  many  tears  will  not  be  lost.      How  much  I  rejoice  when  I  rellect 


LETTERS  OF  SISTER  MARY  ST.  A  UG  VSTINE.        105 

that  your  establishment,  which  I  saw  like  a  mustard  seed  at  the  time  cf 
its  venerable  founder,  should  have,  in  .so  short  a  time,  grown  into  a 
lofty  tre-%  whieh  is  likely,  ere  long,  to  extend  to  ail  the  States  of  Amer- 
ica/ Continue,  I  beg  you,  to  favor  me  from  time  to  time  with  ycur 
edifying  writings.  Remember  mc  most  respectfully  to  your  Rev.  Su- 
perior, to  your  whole  much  revered  community,  and  especially  to  the 
venerable  Sister  Theresa,  who  may  be  considered  the  first  stone  laid  in 
the  foundation  of  your  now  most  flourishing  Institution  :  and  give  me 
a  share  in  your  holy  communications  with  Almighty  God,  As  to  you 
and  your  whole  blessed  family,  you  have  become  too  dear  to  me  that  I 
should  ever  be  able  to  forget  you  and  them.  Accept  these  sentiments 
of  the  most  respectful  attachment  which  shall  only  die  with  mo,  cr 
rather,  survive  my  temporal  pilgrimage  to  last  for  all  eternity. 
Yerv  R.  S.,         Yours,  etc.,  in  Christ, 

ANTHONY    KOHLMAN,  S.  J. 

P.  S.  Your  dear  Samuel  sends  you  his  most  tender  love  ;  and  Fr. 
K  reoucsts  vou  to  remember  him  most  respectfully  to  Rev.  Father 
Barber  and  his  venerable  father  if  still  alive. 

Rome,  August  20th." 

I  have  given  you  the  entire  letter  of  the  saintly  Father,  hoping  it 
will  inspire  you  (as  it  certainly  ought  me)  to  penetrate  into  the  depth  of 
your  nothingness  on  seeing  how  far  we  fall  short  of  what  is  so  justly 
expected  of  us.  Gcd  has,  indeed,  done  a  great  deal  for  all  and  each  of 
our  family  ;  may  we  not  expect  he  will  say  :  "  What  is  there  I  could 
have  done  for  my  vineyard  that  I  have  not  done  ?"  But  his  mercy  is 
net  exhausted  ;  he  still  calls—even  this  letter  is  a  new  grace,  and  both 
you  and  I  will  commence  now%  in  the  beginning  of  this  new  year,  to 
love  him  more  and  serve  him  better  than  we  have  ever  done.  Our  B. 
Lady  has,  it  seems,  already  given  you  the  start  by  lending  you  her  spe- 
cial aid.  I  won't  be  jealous  of  this  preference.  Go  on  ;  and  as  I  am 
getting  old  and  clumsy  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  drawn  on  by  your  favor. 
Your  very,  very  acceptable  letter  came  too  late  for  me  to  learn  that  you 
wished  me  to  join  in  a  novena  pre\ious  to  the  anniversary  of  your  pro- 
fession :  yet  my  heart,  my  good  angel,  or  something  had  inspired  me 
to  do  it.  My  poor  heart  had  been  a  great  while  longing  to  hear  that 
my  dear  Josephine  was  pressing  forward  in  the  way  of  perfection  with 
the  same  ardor  as  on  the  joyful  day  of  her  profession  ;  and  this  news, 
so  necessary  to  my  happiness,  net  reaching  me,  I  anticipated  your  de- 
sire. The  day  this  is  put  in  the  office  I  intend  to  begin  a  thirty-days 
prayer  for  you,  and  I  hope  you  will  get  it  soon  enough  to  join  in  the 
last  ten  or  fifteen  days.  I  do  i.ot  mean  to  say  the  old  one  in  the  ''Pkiis 
Guide,"  but  a  prayer  which  came  with  the  miraculous  medal  ;  a  mem- 


106  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRB. 

orare,  a  sub  tuum,  and  the  aspiration  on  the  medal.  You  have  £0 
many  prayers  said  for  you  by  your  father,  brother,  sisters,  and  others, 
that  you  will  soon  become  perfect  if  you  let  none  of  the  graces  pass  by 
you  to  others.  But  this  I  trust  I  need  not  apprehend,  since  the  medal 
with  the  no  vena  of  j^our  kind  and  pious  mother  and  sisters  proved  so 
efhcacious.  As  long  as  we  have  life,  nature  will  require  a  constant 
curb,  and  this  with  you,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  us,  will  ccst  many  severe 
conflicts,  unintermittiug  watchfulness  and  great  self  command.  This 
will  be  painful  to  endure,  but  the  consolations  which  result  are  more 
than  sufficient  to  indemnifj^  us  in  this  life  ;  and  what  may  v;e  not  hope 
from  the  bounty  of  our  dear  Jesus  in  the  next  ?  When  the  duties  of 
the  day  have  been  attended  with  several  trying  circumstances,  and  we, 
regardless  of  the  suggestions  of  the  inferior  part  of  the  soul,  have  borne 
them  with  an  amiable  and  sweet  silence,  happy  to  increase  our  Saviour's 
love  at  so  cheap  a  rate,  with  what  confidence  may  we  not  approach 
him  in  our  evening  prayers  !  If  we  seem  to  say  but  little,  may  we  not, 
kneel  in  his  presence  and  reflect  that  He  sent  us  these  little  trials  merely 
to  prove  our  fidelity  and  to  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  that 
delightful  union  of  true  love  which  can  be  operated  only  by  the  cross, 
or  rather,  on  it.  And  when  we  fail,  my  dear  child,  let  us  still  go  to 
Him.  Let  us  then  say:  "My  good  Jesus!  have  pity  on  your  poor 
child,  since  you  see  how  weak  she  is."  FOr  my  part,  when  I  seem  to 
commit  nothing  but  faults,  and  I  have  nothing  to  offer  him  of  my  own 
— not  even  a  satisfactory  correspondence  to  one  grace — I  then  offer  Him 
his  own  merits,  his  own  love,  and  the  love  and  merits  of  his  Blessed 
Mother  and  all  the  Saints.  This  is  one  of  my  particular  devotions, 
especially  during  the  divine  office.  Some  of  your  community  have  St. 
F.  deSalies'  admirable  treatise  on  the  Love  of  God.  Somewhere  toward 
the  end  of  the  third  book  (if  I  remember  rightly)  jow.  will  find  the 
praises  which  the  saints, — our  Blessed  Lady  in  particular,  the  holy  Hu- 
manity of  our  Saviour— and  finally,  those  which  God  render  to  himself 
from  all  eternity,  beautifully  explained. 

AVhat  was  said  of  the  Gloria  Patri  made  a  particular  impression  on 
my  mind,  and  I  am  sure,  if  you  will  read  it,  you  will  think  as  I  do — 
that  in  no  book  can  be  more  nourishment  for  prayer  and  devotion.  If 
mother  approves,  read  it  attentively  and  write  me  your  sentiments  in 
detail.  You  have  no  idea  how  much  the  pious  reflections  of  my  chil- 
dren excite  my  devotion.  Sometimes  I  find  myself  getting  lukewarm. 
A  letter  comes  from  some  one  of  the  five  ;  it  breathes  fervor  and  devo- 
tion, or  perhaps  it  tells  me  that  the  poor  soul  is  oppressed  by  spiritual 
languor,  that  it  would  gladly  overcome.  In  either  case  my  fervor  re- 
vives. I  am  perhaps  ashamed  to  see  my  children  taking  heaven  by 
violence  whilst  I  lie  groveling  in  the  earth.     Or  if  the  soul  be  in  a  state 


LETmilS  OF  SISTEIl  MAUY  ST.  A  UG USTINE.        107 

too  much  resembling  my  owr,  I  immediately  go  to  lay  it  at  the  feet  of 
our  dear  Jesus.  I  put  it  close  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  that  it  may  be 
qnitebdthedin,  Ills  precious  blood;  I  immerse  it  in  this  same  blood,  in 
holy  Conununion  ;  I  offer  it  on  the  Paten  with  (he  Sacred  Host,  and  in 
short  I  try  to  incorporate  it  in  such  a  manner  with  the  adorable  Son  of 
God  that  the  Eternal  Father  cannot  reject  it.  Do  the  same  for  me,  my 
dear  child,  and  for  us  all.  If  we  do  not  tell  you  of  all  our  little  weak- 
nesses we  have  plenty  of  them  to  struggle  against. 

Sometimes  bear  a  cross  and  offer  it  for  your  aged  parents,  (for  we 
are  now  getting  quite  old,)  at  another  time  for  your  sist(r  Susan  who  is 
always  sick  ;  at  another,  for  your  brother  who  is  obliged  to  pursue  his 
studies  and  keep  up  his  fervor  amid  so  many  distractions  and  laboriovs 
occupations  ;  then  for  your  elder  sister,  who,  I  dare  say,  find  crosses 
even  in  those  cold  regions.  You  see  it  is  very  well  I  copied  the  letters 
on  the  first  part  of  the  sheet,  for  when  I  get  to  chatting  with  you  I  nev(  r 
know  when  to  stop  so  long  as  paper  remains.  But  I  must  really  read 
over  your  letter  and  see  what  points  remain  to  be  answered.  I  coincide 
with  you  entirely  in  regard  to  the  offering  you  made  of  yourself  to  our 
Blessed  Lady,  and  firmly  believe  that  if  you  persevere  in  claiming  and 
suing  for  her  very  special  protection,  she  will  not  refuse  it.  Claim  her 
as  your  mother.  Tell  her  you  were  offered  to  her  by  contract,  even 
before  your  birth  ;  and  it  was  in  consequence  of  this  contract  that  your 
natural  mother  first  paid  her  devotions  to  her.  Kiss  the  medal  very 
often  and  repeat  the  prayer  engraved  upon  it.  Apply  to  her  in  all  your 
little  difficulties  as  well  as  in  your  trials;  for  I  have  witnessed  her  mirac- 
idouspoicer  more  frequently  in  regard  to  things  of  apparently  small 
moment.  Don't  forget  St.  Joseph,  however  ;  he  is  next  to  our  Blessed 
Lady,  and  will  not  fail  to  aid  you  whenever  you  ask  him.  I  am 
very  glad  you  have  a  devotion  to  St.  Augustin.  Continue,  and  you 
will  find  him  a  true  and  eflicacious  friend.  Sometimes  also  invoke  St, 
Monica.  I  feel  more  indebted  to  good  Mr.  Borgna  than  I  can  express, 
and  you,  my  dear  child,  what  do  you  not  owe  him  for  so  much  kind- 
ness !  so  many  masses  !  What  a  grace  !  or  rather,  what  a  fund  of  ben- 
edictions will  they  not  drav>'  upon  j'ou  if  you  co-operate  the  designs  of 
God  !  Present  him  my  sincere  thanks  for  all  he  has  done  for  my  poor 
child,  v,'ith  my  very  humble  and  cordial  respects.  I  made,  I  think,  a 
slight  acknowledgment  of  your  kind  letters  to  myself,  «S:c 

When  Bp.  Fenwick  was  here  I  kissed  his  ring  and  got  his  blessing 
for  you.  He  had  gone  long  before  your  letter  arrived  or  I  might  have 
done  it  again  and  satisfy  your  devotion.  As  to  getting  your  Father  to 
write,  I  fear  it  will  be  rather  a  difficult  task,  as  he  seldom  writes  to  any 
one.  With  regard  to  my  prevailing  on  him  to  ^^sit  you,  I  must  refer 
you  to  our  Blessed  Lady  and  St.  Joseph.      They  alone  could  do  that. 


108  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS 

Ask  them  with  confidence,  and  if  it  is  according  to  the  will  of  God  they 
will  obtain  it  for  you.  Make  friends  with  them,  and  they  w  ill  take  care 
of  all  your  concerns. 

Dear  old  Sister  Theresa  is  here  and  bids  me  tell  you  to  "  make  hay 
while  the  sun  shints,"  for  \^hen  you  got  old  as  she  is,  you  can  do  bat 
little.  She  also  tells  me  to  say  fcr  her,  that  she  hopes  you  are  humble, 
docile  and  obedient,  and  all  that  is  good.  You  may  be  sure  your 
mother  will  net  oppose  this.  No  ;  and  that  you  may  be  all  this,  and 
every  thing  that  will  render  you  dear  to  our  good  Saviour,  is  my  con- 
stant prayer. 

In  my  annual  retreat,  there  was  a  passage  in  one  of  the  meditations 
which  struck  me  so  forcibly  that  I  got  Sister  S.  to  translate  it  for  me, 
and  I  will  here  transcribe  it  for  you  : 

"  Ox  CoKFESSiox.  Do  you  know  what  pr.s-es  whilst  the  priest  is 
"  giving  you  absolution  V  The  heavens  open,  the  Holy  Ghost  descends, 
"  the  devils  are  driven  cut  cf  your  soul,  the  Son  of  God  washes  you  in 
"  His  blood,  you  are  clad  in  the  nuptial  robe  and  made  fit  to  assist  at 
"  the  nuptials  of  the  Lamb.  You  come  out  of  hell ;  you  resuscitate, 
''  like  Lazanis  from  the  tcmib  ;  you  are  delivered  frcm  your  sins  and 
"  the  eternal  punishment  they  had  incurred;  you  return  to  the  Com- 
"munion  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Saints  ;  you  are  re-established  in 
"  the  quality  of  child  of  God  ;  you  recover  your  right  to  the  inheritance 
"of  paradise  which  you  had  forfeited  ;  you  receive  infused  graces — the 
"gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  an  infinity  of  other  treasures." 

Is  it  not  excellent  ?  When  you  write  tell  me  how  you  like  it.  But 
it  is  time  to  bid  you  farewell,  and  I  must  s.iy  a  few  words  to  your  wor- 
thy Superior.  May  God  bless  you  with  His  choicest  blessing,  and  may 
you  watchfully  correspond  to  Ms  grace  and  His  designs  OTcr  you,  espe- 
cially by  a  sweet  and  amiable  obedience,  is  the  ardent  prayer  of  your 
devJted  mother.  SR.  M.  AUGUSTINE. 


CONVENT    OF    THE    VISITATION, 

Mobile,  February,  1850. 
Mj  d3arly  b3loved  Ab3y  :— '.Ursuline  Nan  in  Qaebao.) 

Your  dear  letter  of  January  4th  is  by  me,  and  no  doubt  you  have 
often  thought  the  answer  was  long  coming,  for,  as  I  have  much  more 
writing  to  do  this  year  than  I  had  last,  it  is  difficult  to  find  much  leisure. 
Besides  I  had  your  letter  to  transcribe  twice,  that  I  might  send  a  copy 
to  your  dear  brother  and  sister  (Josephine)  each  of  which  was  accom- 
panied with  a  pretty  lengthy  letter  of  my  own,  which,  I  flatter  myself, 
will  secure  some  prayers  to  my  dear  Abey. 


LETTERS  OF  SISTER  MARY  ST  A  UO  USTINE.         109 

JMaiy  iu  one  of  her  last  letters  said  that  as  soon  as  she  should  be  in 
heaven  she  -^oiild  try  to  get  all  our  little  family  snugly  fixed  there  :— 
and  it  seems  she  is  commencing  with  j'ou.  Be  ccuragccus,  and  repeat 
freciuently — in  your  heart  at  least, — that  beautiful  aspiration  ^vhich  so 
much  consoled  your  dear  sister  in  her  pains,  and  Avliich  you  are  en- 
deavoring to  repeat  on  every  occasion.  Yes,  let  the  holy  ^vill  of  God 
be  done  in  all  things  !  but  may  we  never  offend  Ilim  !  Say  this  lov- 
ingly :  say  it  conlidently ;  that  is,  with  the  conviction  that  being  just, 
wise  and  xaiernal,  it  will  never  suffer  anything  to  befall  you  but  for 
your  good. 

If  we  truly  confide  in  our  dear  and  merciful  Father  who  is  in 
heaven,  He  will  not  only  call  us  cut  of  this  life  at  the  time  He  sees  us 
best  prepared,  but  he  will  so  nicely  proportion  His  grace  to  all  cur 
pains  and  crosses  as  to  afford  us  wherewith  to  satisfy  His  divine  justice, 
and  obtain  a  speedy  union  with  Him.  For  instance,  if  through  the 
m.ercy  of  our  poor  human  nature,  you  were  to  forget  yourself  so  far  as 
to  speak  impatiently  to  one  of  your  dear  sisters,  your  spouse,  seeing 
that  all  your  trust,  confidence  and  expectations  were  in  Him,  might  in- 
spire you  to  ask  pardon  promptly  and  thus  repair  the  fault.  And  if 
He  discovered  regret  in  your  heart  for  having  caused  Him  a  little  dis- 
pleasure, may  you  not  suppose  that  He  would  grant  you  the  grace  to 
say  :  "Eternal  Father!  I  offer  Thee  the  most  precious  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  expiation  of  my  sins  and  for  the  wants  of  thy  holy 
church,  "  or  something  similar  by  which  you  would  become  dearer  to 
Him  than  before  your  fall  ?  Passing  from  small  to  great  things,  extend 
this  confidence  even  to  the  moment  of  death,  and  you  will  totally 
disarm  that  king  of  terrors.  You  remember  the  quotation  I  made  from 
St.  Liguori's  "  True  Spouse  "  for  your  beloved  sister  Mary.  Yet  as  I 
wish  you  and  all  who  are  dear  to  me  to  reduce  it  to  practice  when  the 
critical  moment  of  death  may  arrive,  I  will  have  it  copied  and  enclose 
it  in  my  letter.  You  have  continual  occasion  to  practice  this  holy  re- 
signation in  your  pains  ;  and  I  beg  you,  my  dear  child,  to  bear  in  mind 
that  each  act  pronounced  ;  each  little  turn  of  the  heart,  showing  to  jowy 
dear  spouse  that  you  wish  and  resolve  to  embrace  all  his  wills,  will  in- 
crease His  glory  and  your  happiness  (as  says  a  little  book  of  devotions 
to  the  S.  Heart)  not  for  a  short  period,  such  as  you  will  employ  in  pro- 
nouncing it, — but  through  all  eternity.  How  good  and  tenderly  pater- 
nal is  our  dear  Lord  to  furnish  us  with  such  easy  means  of  canceling 
our  debts  and  of  amassing  treasure  of  glory  and  happiness  !  He  is  all 
love,  and  He  wishes  to  be  loved.  Love  Him,  then  my  dear  child.  Love 
Him  for  yourself.  Love  Him  for  me,  love  Him  for  us  all  !  and  as  you 
have  long  been  "  Mary's  little  goat,  "  ask  her  if  it  is  not  time  to  change 
you  into  one  of  her  little  lambs.      Beg  her  confidently  and  lovingly  to 


110  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

{\o\\so:m,  tl;  at  you  may  give  more  glory  to  that  sweet  and  teautifiil 
SON,  of  whom  the  Eternal  is  father  and  she  is  mother.  Tell  her  to 
think  of  this  incomparable  honor  of  being  associated  with  the  eternal 
father  to  produce  a  son  for  the  redemption  of  us  poor  sinners.  Then 
coax  her,  beg  her,  importune  her.  Offer  her  your  pains  ;  tell  her  that 
you  will  bear  them  for  her  sake,  if  she  and  dear  St.  Joseph  will  only 
come  and  unite  with  you  in  aspirations  to  her  adorable  son  whom  j'ou 
so  much  desire  to  please.  Beg  them  too,  with  your  dear  angel,  to  say 
them  for  you  when,  through  your  pains  and  miseries,  you  omit  or  for- 
get them.  If  you  are  not  exceedingly  low,  this  will  not  fatigue  you  ; 
it  will  rather  divert  your  thoughts  from  your  pains  and  from  yourself 
to  think  of  those  beautiful,  those  enchanting  beings  with  whom  you 
are  soon  to  dwell.  Tell  your  dear  mother,  the  B.  Virgin,  to  fix  up,  to 
adorn  you  suitably,  and  not  to  allow  your  poor  soul  to  appear  in  a 
shabby  attire  before  persons  of  such  dignity. 

Beg  some  precious  pearls  from  her,  from  St.  Joseph,  some  from 
your  dear  angel  and  each  of  your  patrons  that  you  may  appear  decked 
agreeably  to  the  taste  of  your  illustrious  spouse.  I  am  so  pleased  you 
wTre  not  afraid  to  go  and  meet  Him,  even  when  you  were  so  ill  as  to 
make  it  appear  probable  He  was  about  to  call  you.  That  shows  con- 
fidence, and  it  delights  me.  Love  your  spouse.  Confide  in  your  spouse  ! 
but  neither  dread  nor  fear  Him  (save  the  fear  of  displeasing  Him).  I 
would  wish  to  repeat  it  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times.  Pin  the  little 
paper  I  enclose,  to  your  curtains,  and  read  it  often.  The  enemy  will 
perhaps  whisper  :  "But  you  have  reason  to  lose  or  diminish  your 
confidence,  for  you  have  been  a  great  sinner.  " 

That  you  have  been  a  great  sinner  I  can  readily  believe  ;  and  so 
have  I.  I  have  the  sins  of  upwards  of  sixty  years  weighing  upon  me  ; 
and  with  them  all.  aggravated  as  they  are,  by  abuse  of  grace,  I  will 
still  confi.de  in  our  dear  and  merciful  Lord  ;  for  I  know  His  mercies 
and  His  merits  are  sufficient,  not  only  to  outweigh  all  my  sins,  but 
tliose  of  thousands  of  worlds.  Apply  this  to  yourself.  Cast  yourself 
into  the  arms  of  His  Providence,  and  repose  there.  Let  him  carry  you 
where  he  pleases.  Let  Him  do  with  you  what  He  pleases  ;  all  will  be 
well.  You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  confide  in  Him,  and  accept 
amiably  and  lovingly  all  that  He  may  send.  Lie  and  kiss  the  heart  of 
your  dear  spouse, — (your  crucifix) — with  the  intention  of  doing  all  that 
I  have  suggested,  and  He  will  accept  it  and  even  supply  what  you  have 
not  strength  to  offer,  if  He  can  only  see  you  have  the  will  to  do  it. 

I  thank  you  much  for  the  prayers  and  for  everything  that  was  in 
your  letter,  the  half  of  which  I  do  not  expect  to  answer  here  ;  for  it 
would  take  all  my  paper,  and  I  wish  to  chat  with  my  poor,  dear  sick 
child.      I  will  answer  or  arrange  all  the  affairs  of  the  letter  with  our 


LETTEES  OF  SISTER  MAR  Y  ST.  A  UG  USTINE.        1 1 1 

dear  Lord.  How  kind  he  was  to  cause  your  vomiting  to  cease  that  He 
might  visit  j'ou. 

He  is  continually  doing  something  to  make  us  love  Him,  He  turns 

0  ir  very  afflictions  and  privations  into  benedictions.  You  experience 
this,  I  am  sure,  many  times  each  day  ;  but  how  particularly  sensible 
was  it  to  you  after  you  had  been  so  long  deprived  of  His  corporal 
presence.  You  have  no  idea  how  interested  our  dear  Mother  Agnes  is 
for  you.  Besides  one  general  Communion  which  she  had  offered  for 
you,  she  has  allowed  several  sisters  to  offer  particular  ones  ;  which, 
many  of  them  have  assured  me,  they  do  daily  for  your  dear  community. 

1  have  long  prayed  daily  and  begged  prayers  for  your  dear  Mothers 
Gabriel,  Andrews,  &c.  ;  but  since  I  have  your  precious  list,  I  add  your 
attendants  and  especially  your  dear  scribe.  I  do  not  forget  dear  Srs. 
Ann,  Joseph,  nor  any  you  mentioned  ;  not  that  I  attach  any  value  to 
my  prayeis,  but  I  know  it  will  be  a  consolation  to  you,  my  dear  Abey, 
to  know  that  your  poor  mother  is  not  ungrateful  to  those  who  are  £o 
kind,  attentive  and  truly  motherly  to  you.  I  now  have  the  list  lying 
open  before  me  ;  and  as  I  read,  how  I  wish  to  say  some  little  kind  word 
to  each  one  !  but  I  limit  myself  as  to  paper  that  I  may  not  tax  you 
with  too  heavy  a  postage.* 

Do  not  infer  from  this,  that  the  postage  of  the  letters  I  receive  is 
felt  by  this  community.  Far  from  it,  they  never  mention  it,  and  are 
quite  delighted  when  I  get  a  letter  from  any  of  my  family.  I  received 
one  a  few  days  since,  from  my  dear  sister,  in  which  she  tells  that  she 
(jow  sixty-nine  years  of  age)  and  my  beloved  mother, — upwards  of 
ninety,  enjoy  good  health  ;  but  that  my  mother's  faculties  are  so  im- 
paired that  she  appears  quite  unlike  her  former  self.  Yet  she  seems 
to  be,  almost  the  whole  time,  employed  in  her  prayers  and  in  thinking 
and  speaking  of  God.  She  added,  that  my  dear  mother  showed  almost 
none  of  this  forgetfulness  so  common  to  persons  of  advanced  age.  My 
sister's  letter  is  filled  Mith  piety  ;  but  she  is  too  well  satisfied  with  the 
safety  and  sanctity  of  her  own  religion,  to  think  of  embracing  the  Catho- 
lic faith.  The  same  is  the  case  with  my  poor  mother  and  all  the  family  ; 
but  they  are  surrounded  by  Protestants  and  see  no  Catholics,  and  have 
very  little  opportunity  of  obtaining  information.  They  all,  i.  e.,  my 
dear  mother,  sister  and  children,  desire  much  love  to  you  and  to  each 
member  of  our  family.  Often  raise  3'our  heart  to  our  merciful  Lord 
for  them,  for  me,  and  for  all  our  little  family,  w^ith  each  of  the  com- 
munities to  which  we  severally  belong,  with  the  intention  of  obtaining 
f  jr  us,  all  that  which  you  desire  and  ask  for  yourself  and  your  dear 
CDmmunity.  Your  precious  letter  was  read  out  in  recreation,  where  we 

*    Postage  was  then  twenty-flvo  cents  a  sUeot. 


112  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

could  converse  freely  on  it  ;  your  ages,  entrance  into  religion,  profes- 
sions, &c.,  observed  ;  wliicli  made  lis  quite  acquainted  with  you  all  ; 
and  I  have  messages  sufficient  to  fill  a  pretty  long  letter  ;  but  as  there 
is  no  room,  I  must  say  in  one  word  that  all  and  each  of  this  community 
desire  a  great  deal  of  cordial  love  to  you,  &c 

SR.  M.   AUGUTINE  BARBER. 


CONVENT  OF  THE  VISITATION. 

Mobile,  Oct.  29,  1850. 
^ly  Dearly  Beloved  Child  (Abey)  : 

Your  favor  of  September  6tli  was  received  several  weeks  since, 
l)ut  I  have  been  so  closely  employed  preparing  our  scholars  for  the 
annual  exhibition,  preceded  by  a  public  examination,  that  I  could  not 
write  sooner.  It  is  true,  the  exhibition  was  the  14th  inst.,  but  since 
then  I  have  been  so  closely  bound  to  the  pen,  as  I  was  before  to  class 
But  to  your  dear  letter. 

Sincerely  do  I  thank  the  blessed  Lord  for  the  improvement  in  your 
health  and  for  enabling  you  to  attend  the  retreat.  Holy  Mass,  to  com- 
municate in  the  choir  and  to  go  sometimes  besides,  to  visit  your  ador- 
able spouse  and  to  make  your  meditation  in  His  presence.  As  long  as 
he  allows  you  to  do  it,  improve  it  faithfully  yet  prudently  and  only  in 
obedience,  thanking  Him  for  it ;  and  when  He  deprives  of  this  or  any 
other  favor,  thank  Him  also  for  that ;  bearing  in  mind  that  you  may 
please  Him  more  by  resignation  than  enjoyment. 

Do  not  forget  in  your  long  and  tedious  sickness  to  strive  to  gain  all 
the  merit  that  your  spouse  intends  you  should  derive  from  it,  by  fre- 
quent interior  acts,  particularly  of  meekness  and  resignation  ;  for  these, 
whilst  they  fortify  you  to  bear  all  with  sweetness,  will  obtain  for  you 
that  recollection  v»hich,  (a  long  time  ago)  you  complained  that  you 
needed.  Do  not  even  bear  your  pains  through  custom,  and  because 
you  have  become  inured  to  them,  but  because  our  Lord  is  pleased  to 
send  them  ;  frequently  recollecting  that  He  stands  behind  the  lattice, 
looking  on  and  counting  the  degrees  of  glory  He  is  to  obtain  from  each. 
Thus  borne,  they  will  become  His  treasures,  of  which  He  will  boast, 
as  having  been  acquired  by  one  so  miserable,  in  whom  His  grace  has  so 
powerfully  operated. 

But  should  you,  growing  weary  of  your  long-continued  indisposi- 
tion, fail  to  offer  them  or  to  resign  yourself  willingly  to  them  ;  then  the 
graces  which  your  spouse  had  prepared  for  you  and  which  would  have 
obtained  the  application  of  a  multitude  of  His  sacred  merits  to  your 
soul,  will  pass  by  to  some  one  who  is  more  recollected  and  more  watch- 


LETTERS  OF  SISTER  MARY  ST.  AUGUSTINE.        113 

fully  attentive  to  increase  his  love  in  her  heart.  I  fear  I  am  speaking 
too  seriousl}'-,  Avlien  I  ought  rather,  recreate  to  my  poor  sick  child  ;  if 
so,  3'ou  must  pardon  me,  for  I  consider  this  (sickness)  your  time  of 
harvest,  in  -which  you  have  an  opportunity  of  storing  up  provisions  for 
a  long  journey,  and  even  for  a  time  of  famine, — which  may  follow.  It 
is  a  very  common  notion  that  a  poor  sick  person  must  be  recreated  and 
her  mind  relaxed  by  telling  and  showing  her  a  thousand  things,  to 
which  her  state  of  debility  renders  her  unable  to  attend,  so  as  to  be  of 
any  service  to  the  community  ;  consequently  it  would  be  better  for  her 
to  inquire  only  about  the  little  things  in  which  she  can  employ  herself. 
Then  she  will  have  time  to  make  the  little  simple  acts  which  are  so 
beautiful  in  the  sight  of  her  spouse  ;  in  return  for  which  He  will 
recreate  her  interiorly  by  a  thousand  pious  and  cheerful  thoughts  ;  so 
that  oftentimes,  a  glance  at  her  crucitix  will  fill  her  with  spiritual  joy. 
You  say,  my  dear  child,  in  your  last  letter  that  the  fear  of  not  profiting  by 
your  sickness  gives  you  much  uneasiness .  This  uneasiness  is  worse  than 
useless  ;  it  is  a  real  hindrance  which  prevents  you  from  doing  what  our 
Lord  desires  of  you.  He  requires  that  you  remain  quiet,  tranquil  and 
resigned  to  His  holy  will,  recreating  yourself  with  Him,  by  making 
acts,  as  I  have  suggested  above,  without  inquiring  or  even  thinking  how 
or  wiien  your  sickness  will  terminate  ; — for  such  thoughts  produce 
anxiety  and  destroy  resignation.  Our  Lord  puts  you  on  your  sick  bed. 
Stay  there  contentedly  to  please  Him,  and  have  or  form  no  plans  of 
your  own.  Let  him  plan  and  direct, — you  submit.  And  if  you  wish  to 
please  him  exceedingly,  be  pleased  with  what  He  ordains  for  j'ou.  This 
will  at  once  cut  off  a  million  of  distractions,  and  draw  Him  to  your 
heart,  wiiere  He  will  remain  if  only  you  attend  to  Him  and  entice  Him 
to  stay  by  these  little  simple  acts  of  love  and  resignation. 

You  say  you  wish  to  know  something  more  about  the  indulgence 
of  the  six  paters,  aves  and  gloria.* 

I  had  it  copied  word  for  word  from  a  copy  printed  in  French,  and 
our  Sisters  from  Lyons,  where  the  devotion  w^as  common  and  well 
known,  say  it  is  authentic.  If  I  could  command  my  time  I  would  per- 
form the  devotion  fifty  times  a  day  to  release  the  poor  suffering  souls 
from  purgatory  ;  telling  them  that  when  admitted  to  the  adorable  pres- 
ence of  our  Lord,  they  must  praise  and  glorify  Him  for  me  and  all 
mine,  obtain  the  entire  conversion  of  us  and  multitudes  of  other  sinners 
and  the  release  of  other  suffering  souls.  I  endeavor  to  say  them  at  least 
twice  a  day — sometimes  more.  On  the  feast  of  St.  Ursula  our  mother 
allowed  me  to  beg  a  Mass  for  my  Ursuline  daughters  and  sisters,  which 
our  confessor  willingly  said  ;  and  I  w^as  permitted  to  communicate  for 


See  Glories  of  Mary  page  66,  chapter  on  Scapular,  &c. 

8 


114  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

the  same  iutentiou.  I  am  sorry  our  beloved  Mary's  portrait  was  not 
sent  to  Quebec  ;  but  I  do  not  wish  it  sent  to  Mobile.  Should  your  sis- 
ter Josephine  ever  have  an  opportunty  of  sending  it  north,  I  hope  the 
good  mothers  will  keep  it  :— at  any  rate,  I  do  not  wish  to  have  it.  I 
trust  she  is  a  saint  in  heaven,  and  that  is  enough.  Your  sister  Josephint^'s 
health  has  improved,  and  I  believe,  re-established. 

All  the  accounts  I  receive  from  St.  Louis  respecting  her,  are  most 
edifying  and  consoling  to  a  mother's  heart. 

You  seem  to  regret  that  you  cannot,  with  your  good  mothers  and 
sisters  say  the  beads  for  this  community.  Such  a  privation  will  not 
exclude  you  from  participating  in  the  benefit,  as  In  religion  all  is  in 
common  ;  besides,  the  obedience  and  privation  afford  you  double  merit, 
and  one  act  of  resignation  is  better  than  the  saying  of  twenty  prayers 
of  beads  without  such  resignation. 

And  so  your  breaking  out  is  worse  !  Poor  Job  !  Profit  by  it  as  he 
did ;  and  if  your  superior  will  permit,  continue  to  take  the  burdock 
root' syrup.  It  will  eventually  cure  you,  unless  it  be  a  visitation  from 
God,  by  the  continuation  of  wdiich  He  wishes  you  to  merit  crowns  for 
heaven.  Your  sister  Josephine  is  now  preparing,— that  is  cutting  and 
drying  a  great  quantity  to  send  us,  as  we  do  not  succeed  in  raising  it 
in  this  climate.  Perhaps  your  humor  proceeds  from  dyspepsia,  with 
w^hich— from  your  vomiting  — I  conclude  you  are  troubled.  Some 
weeks  ago  I  was  attacked  with  it ;  which,  one  of  our  scholars  discov- 
ering, she  brought  me  a  bottle  of  "  Extrait  d'absinthe,  "  directing  me 
to  take  a  small  tcaspoonful  three  times  a  day,  in  a  little  water.  I  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  the  medicine  before  ;  and  had  not  much  faith  in 
its  efficacy  ;  however  I  tried  it  and  was  cured  in  a  few  days  ;  though  I 
w\as  obliged  to  avoid  taking  much  fiuid— such  as  tea,  coffee  or  souid— 

on  my  stomach. 

As  it  is  a  French  medicine  you  may  be  acquainted  with  its  \-irtues. 
I  was  so  much  engrossed  by  school  and  monastic  duties  about  the  time 
I  last  wrote  to  you,  that  I  remember  neither  the  date  nor  the  contents  of 

the  letter. 

I  have  been  under  the  impression  that  in  it,  I  told  you  of  the  death 
of  my  dear  mother ;  though,  within  a  few  minutes  past,  I  begin  to 
doubt.  If  I  did  not,  I  have  been  guilty  of  a  great  oversight.  But  your 
sister  Josephine  has,  I  think,  informed  you.  However,  knowing  it 
will  afford  you  consolation,  I  will  transcribe  a  part  of  your  aunt  Char- 
lotte Glover's  letter,  written  August  14th  :  "  Our  dear  aged  mother 
departed  this  life  on  the  10th  of  the  present  month,  at  6  o'clock  P.  M. 
She  had  been  gradually  declining  since  January.  In  March  and  since 
that  time  she  was  mostly  confined  to  her  bed.  Her  mind,  though  im- 
paired, (that  is,  enfeebled)  w^as  uniformly  calm  and  peaceful,  and  she 


LETTERS  OF  SISTER  MART  ST  A  UGUSTINE.         115 

perfectly  resigned  to  the  Avill  of  her  Heavenly  Father,  not  ex])rc.ssing  a 
wish  to  continue  longer  or  depart,  only  in  accordance  ^vith  His  holy  will. 
Death  to  her  was  apparently  like  an  expiring  lamp,  without  a  struggle 
or  groan,  aged  ninety  years  and  one  month.  We  have  a  strong  faith 
that  she  is  at  rest;  and  we  can  look  in  a  better  world,  &c.,  &c.  " 
Charlotte,  after  saying  considerably  more  about  the  death  of  my  beloved 
mother,  continued  :  "  When  you  last  wrote  dear  Abey  was  very  sick  ; 
but  I  conclude  she  has  recovered  or  you  would  have  written  to  inform 
us.  I  hope  soon  to  hear  from  you  and  through  you  from  each  of  the 
children,  to  whom  we  all  unitedly,  send  much  love,  and  pray  that  though 
separated  on  earth  we  may  be  united  in  heaven.  "  I  feel  that  the  many 
prayers  which  have  been  offered  for  my  beloved  mother  were  not  lost, 
and  that  the  resignation  she  practiced,  not  only  during  her  last  sickness, 
but  through  life,  under  the  severest  trials  has  obtained  mercy  for  her. 
I  beg  that  you  and  all  will  pray  for  her,  &c.,  &c. 

SR.  M.  AUGUSTINE  BARBER. 

Many  thanks  for  the  prayers  you  offer  for  your  brother  Samuel, 
your  sister  and  myself  ;  for  they  with  their  bad  health,  and  I  with  my 
multiplicity  of  liitle  infirmities  and  slender  stock  of  virtue,  need  them 
much.  And  if  you  wish  to  know  with  what  devotion  I  should  be  best 
pleased, — what  I  would  prefer  your  offering  for  me,  I  will  tell  you 
quite  simply,  believing  that  your  fervor  and  satisfaction  will  be  in- 
creased by  the  conviction  that  you  are  gratifying  your  aged  mother. 
Then,  my  dear  child,  make  for  me  some  practical  acts  of  resignation  to 
the  holy  will  of  our  Blessed  Lord  each  day  ;  and  in  saying  the  office 
and  in  performing  the  other  duties  marked  by  our  holy  rules  and  con- 
stitutions, include  me  and  all  mJne  in  your  offering  ;  and  then  perform 
them  through  a  spirit  of  obedience  ;  keeping  the  mind,  will  and  heart 
subject,  for  the  love  of  Him  who  submitted  unreservedly,  lovingly  and 
perseveringly  to  all  those  whom  His  eternal  Father  permitted  to  com- 
mand Him.  Keep  your  mind  humble  and  tranquil  ;  remembering  that 
our  Holy  Father  (St.  Francis  de  Sales)  says  that  a  little  performed  with 
great  love  is  better  than  a  great  deal  performed  with  little  love. 

I,  through  necessity,  perform  a  great  many  exterior  duties  ;  and 
much  do  I  apprehend,  that  when  weighed  in  the  justice  of  God,  they 
will  be  found  wanting  in  love.  I  am  even  confident  that  nothing  but 
obedience  (in  which  I  have  implicit  faith)  and  the  mercy  of  our  good 
God  can  save  me.     Pray  for  me  in  the  manner  I  have  named  above. 

SR.  M.  A.  BARBER. 


116  CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTICES 


OF 


Sister  MARY  BENEDICTA,  of  the  Ursuline  Convent,  Quebec. 
Sister  FRANCIS-XAVIER,  also  of  the  Ursuline  Convent  of  Quebec. 
Sister  MARY   ST.  JOSEPH,  of  the  Ursuline  Convent,  Three  Rivers, 

Canada. 
Rev.  SAMUEL  BARBER,  S.  J. 

All  children  of  Virgil  Horace  and  Jerusha  Barber. 


MARY  BARBER. 


IN   RELIGION 


SISTER    MARY    BENEDICTA 


Mary,  the  eldest  child  of  Virgil  Barber,  was  born  in  January,  1810. 
After  spending  some  years  in  the  Visitation  Convent  of  Georgetown 
she  went  to  the  Convent  of  the  Ursulines  in  Boston  where  she  took  the 
veil  on  August  15th,  1826,  and  made  her  profession  two  years  later,  in 
1828.  After  the  burning  of  the  convent  near  Charlestown,  whither 
the  Ursulines  had  moved  from  Boston,  and  several  fruitless  attempts  to 
re-open  a  school  in  the  same  city,  Sister  Mary  Benedicta  entered  the 
Convent  of  the  Ursulines  in  Quebec  in  1844.  She  died  in  the  same 
convent  in  1848  at  the  age  of  38. 

We  owe  to  the  pen  of  Sister  Mary  Benedicta  an  admirable  relation 
of  the  burning  of  the  convent  near  Charlestown,  (Mass.,)  in  1834. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTICES— MART   BARBER.         117 
Extract  from  a  letter  of  Mother  St.  Croix  to  Sister  M.  Josephine. 

URSULINE  CONVENT, 

Quebec,  Nov.  29,  1880. 
"  Let  me  tell  you  my  Souvenirs  of  your  angelic  sister,  Mary,  our 
Mother  M.  Bcuedicta.    When  I  entered  the  convent  as  a  pupil  in  1835, 
Mother  M.  Benedicta  was  teacher  of  English  grammar  and  literature. 

Active,  energetic,  zealous,  she  spared  no  pains  in  advancing  her 
pupils.     Above  all,  she  sought  to  insinuate  a  spirit  of  piety,  and  that 
with  such  warmth  from  her  own  heart,  inflamed   with  the    love  of 
God,  that  I,  for  one,  can  certify  that  her  sweet  lessons  were  never  for- 
gotten.     How  often  have  I  cited  to  my  own  pupils  her  lucid  remarks, 
her  judicious  observations  while  I  made  the  eulogium  of  my  dear 
English  teacher  as  of  one  in  whom  I  had  found  combined  every  perfec- 
tion ;  or,  as  I  have  expressed  it  in  'The  OUmpses  of  the  Monastery,  '"she 
personified  the  three  graces,  who  in  her  were  not  only  christian  but  emi- 
nently religious.     How  well  I  remember  that  last  year  of  her  teaching, 
when  already  the  malady  which  deprived  us  of  her  services,  had  begun 
its  fatal  inroads  upon  her  constitution  !      She  was  at  the  time  first  mis- 
tress of  the  half  boarders  ;  (I  was  second).    She  had  succeeded  in  intro- 
ducing among   them  the   confraternity  of  the  '  Children   of  Mary. ' 
How  ardently  she  continued  to  labor  in  spite  of  her  sufferings ;  con- 
cealing them  as  much  as  possible, — coming  to  class  in  the  intervals  of 
comparative  repose,  and  struggling  to  perform  her  usual  duties  as  if  in 
health.  It  was  only  by  order  of  the  physician  that  at  last  she  consented 
to  take  her  bed,  little  foreseeing  even  then,  no  doubt,  that  it  would  be 
her  death  bed.      I  was  young,  and  I  felt  my  incapacity  to  succeed  her 
as  teacher  of  the  first  English  class.      But  how  kindly  she  aided  and 
encouraged  me  as  day  by  day  I  w^ould  come  to  her  bedside  for  her  in- 
structions !      How  often  on  these  occasions  would  she  involuntarily 
betray   the   secret  of   her  own  piety  and  of   her  constant  efforts  to 
benefit  the  souls  of  her  pupils,  while  she  w^ould  suggest  to  me  the 
utmost  purity  of  intention,  and  show  me  how  to  do  that  double  w^ork 
which  is  the  aim  of  the  true  religious  teacher.      Later,  in  my  still  fre- 
quent visits  to  the  infirmary,  dear  mother  M.  Benedicta  always  appeared 
to  me  the  model  of  a  religious  invalid  ;   but  how  sweet  was  her  smile 
of  recognition  !  how  edifying  her  resignation  to  the  adorable  will  of 
God,  who  orders  all  things  for  our  good  !      The  seat  of  her  malady 
seemed  to  be  in  her  back,  between  her  shoulders.  There  poultices  were 
applied  to  ease  the  pain  during  many  long  weeks.     One  day  I  beheld 
the  painful  sight  as  the  infirmarian  was  tenderly  dressing  the  many 
ulcers  that  covered  her  poor  back.     I  could  never  forget  it.     It  seemed 


118  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

to  me  that  I  could  see  the  sacred  body  of  our  blessed  Lord  after  the 
cruel  scourging.  Speaking  of  the  dear  departed,  our  Rev.  Mother  said 
to  me  :  'I  was  privileged  to  Tvatch  with  her  the  night  before  her 
death.  Another  Sister  watched  also.  While  the  latter  had  gone  to 
take  refreshments,  the  dear  sufferer  noticing  me  near  her,  told  me  in 
her  feeble,  dying  voice  to  go  and  take  something  also. ' 

How  habitual  must  have  been  her  self-forgetfulness.  It  was  like 
herself  indeed,  to  think  ever  of  the  wants  of  others  and  not  her  own. 
At  last  the  long  martyrdom  drew  to  a  close.  With  angelic  piety  our 
dear  sufferer  had  received  the  last  sacraments,  and  still  lingered, — 
waiting  the  bridegroom,  coming.  The  long  prayers  for  the  agonizing 
had  been  said,  and  still  the  feeble  lamp  continued  to  give  out  its  flick- 
ering light.  The  bridegroom  tarried  till  May  9th  (her  father's  birthday). 
On  that  morning  I  entered  the  infirmary  just  in  time  to  join  in  the  last 
prayers  we  could  say  for  our  beloved  Sister.  I  knelt  just  near  her,  and  saw 
her  raise  her  feeble  emaciated  hands  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  as  I 
began  the  litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Bringing  her  two  hands  to- 
gether as  we  are  wont  at  the  beginning  of  the  Divine  Office,  she  bowed 
her  head  and  expired,  recalling  to  my  mind,  by  her  attitude  and  the 
sweet  expression  of  her  placid  countenance,  the  expiring  of  our  dear  Lord 
on  the  cross.  Yes,  dear  sister,  your  beloved  Mary,  after  a  long  year  of 
suffering  endured  uncomplainingly,  passed  to  a  better  life,  leaving  us 
to  deplore  her  early  loss,  whilst  we  treasure  up  with  consolation  the 
souvenir  of  her  piety,  her  zeal  for  the  observance  of  the  rule  and  the  good 
of  souls,  her  labors  in  the  Institute  and  the  edifying  example  of  the 
daily  practice  of  every  religious  virtue. 


BIOORAPUICAL  NOTICES-MARY  ABIGAIL  BARBER.  119 

MARY  ABIGAIL  BARBER, 


m  EELIGION 


SISTER    FRANCIS-XAVIER. 


"  On  September  11th,  1878,  my  Sister  Abey  (Sr.  Francis-Xavier)  cele 
brated  her  golden  jubilee  of  religious  profession.  This  was  only  eigh- 
teen months  before  her  death.  She  was  even  then,  an  occupant  of  the 
infirmary  but  went  down  to  participate  in  the  Community  fete.  The 
refectory  was  festooned  with  green,  and  in  a  conspicuous  place  appeared 
the  cipher  50  wrought  in  flowers.  They  presented  her  with  gifts  and 
tokens,  and  the  Sisters  sang  for  the  crowning,  some  beautiful  verses  of 
their  own  composition,  some  also,  composed  by  Rev.  T.  Hamon,  S.  J. 
In  November,  1879,  a  severe  stroke  of  paralysis  left  my  sister  helpless, 
speechless  and  unconscious.  Extreme  Unction  was  administered  and 
she  remained  in  this  state  until  December  8th,  the  feast  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception,  when  being  restored  to  consciousness  she  had  the 
happiness  of  receiving  the  holy  Viaticum  then  and  several  times  after- 
wards. " 


The  following  letters  were  written  from  the  Ursuline  Convent  of 
Quebec  to  Sister  M,  Josephine. 

SISTER    M.     XAVIER'S    DEATH. 
URSULINE  CONVENT, 

Quebec,  March  1,  1880. 
My  very  dear  Sr.  Josephine  : 

Although  I  answered  your  last  letter  in  due  time,  I  feel  that  you 
must  be  anxious  to  hear  again  from  your  dear  suffering  sister.  She  is 
still  lingering  on  her  bed  of  pains  ;  but  apparently  the  hour  of  her  re- 
lease is  at  hand.  From  the  time  you  last  heard  from  her  there  has  been 
little  change  in  her  state  until  now.  She  has  remained  completely 
helpless  ;  and  although  sufficiently  conscious  to  understand  what  is 
said,  she  has  never  recovered  the  faculty  of  speech  beyond  a  word  or 
two  at  a  time.  This  degree  of  consciousness  has  been  to  her  a  most 
precious  boon,  enabling  her  to  join  in  the  prayers,  offerings  of  herself 
and  her  sufferings,  the  tender  aspirations,  &c. ,  suggested  to  her  by  her 


126  (JAfHOLiO    MEMOIR^. 

indefatigable  infirmarian,  who  has  scarcely  Cjiiitted  her  side,  by  day  or 
night  since  the  commencement  of  her  illness.  This  dear  soul,  Sister 
St.  Charles,  is  your  sister's  special  infirmarian  ;  having  volunteered  her 
services  from  a  sense  of  special  gratitude — (having  been  her  pupil  in 
music  in  former  days) — and  were  she  waiting  on  her  own  mother,  or  on 
our  Blessed  Lady  herself,  I  do  not  think  she  could  do  it  with  more 
affection  and  devotedness.  Her  services  had  been  required  indeed,  our 
infirmary  being  very  laborous  and  visited  by  death  ;  on  which  account 
the  dear  invalid  has  been  transported  to  another  infirmary,  the  old 
Novitiate, — the  very  apartment  where  she  commenced  her  religious 
life.  A  few  days  ago,  your  good  sister  received  again  the  visit  of  our 
dear  Lord  in  holy  Viaticum ;  and  on  Friday,  February  2Tth,  Extreme 
Unction  again.  Yesterday  she  had  a  turn  of  weakness,  which  brought 
the  community  around  her  for  the  prayers  for  the  agonizing  ;  and  these 
have  been  reiterated  in  part,  since,  as  well  as  the  visits  of  her  confessor, 
&c.,  which  have  been  frequent  throughout  her  illness. 

Wednesday,  March  3.  My  dear  good  sister,  you  are  prepared,  are 
you  not,  to  hear  that  all  is  over,  that  all  is  at  rest, — that  the  poor  weak 
frame  has  sunk,  and  left  the  soul  free  to  wing  its  eager  way  to  the 
bosom  of  its  God  !  Yesterday  evening  at  about  half -past  eight,  the 
last  symptoms  appeared.  Our  dear  Mother  Superior  was  again  at  the 
bedside  of  our  beloved  sister,  with  a  part  of  the  community  in  prayer, 
accompanying  the  departing  soul.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  when 
the  last  feeble  breath  told  that  the  oft-invited  bridegroom  had  come  for 
His  faithful  spouse.  Her  whole  life  had  been  spent  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  in  innocence  and  fervor.  All  the  precious  moments  have  been 
reckoned  and  each  has  received  an  abundant  recompense.  The  suf- 
ferings of  a  long  and  painful  malady  alone  w^ere  needed  to  complete 
the  splendor  of  her  crown  ;  and  these  have  been  plentifully  supplied 
with  consciousness  to  profit  by  them,  and  the  comforts  of  symjiathy 
and  religion  to  alleviate  their  bitterness.  You  are  aware,  dear  sister, 
with  what  a  liberal  hand  our  holy  rule  has  provided  prayer  for  the 
dear  deceased.  The  grand  office  at  the  funeral,  Masses,  Via  Crucis, 
Communion,  &c.  Surely  our  dear  sister  will  take  a  legion  of  souls  with 
her,  by  sharing  with  them  the  surplus  of  her  spiritual  riches.  The 
burial  will  take  place  to-morrov7  morning.  I  enclose  a  little  heart 
worked  by  our  dear  sister.  May  our  blessed  Lord  himself  comfort 
your  loving  heart  !  You  will  kindly  let  us  hear  from  you  soon.  Our 
Bev.  Mother  and  Community  unite  with  me  in  sympathy  and  affection. 

Yours,  &c. 

SR.  ST.  CROIX. 

She  was  aged  sixty-nine  years. 


Biographical  notige^^mary  Abigail  barbj^r.  121 

letter  from  the  rev.  mother  superior. 

ursuline  convent, 

Quebec,  March  18,  1880. 
My  very  dear  sister  in  Xt.     (To  Sister  Mary  Josephine). 

To  me  you  are  more  than  a  sister  in  religion  ;  you  are  doubly  dear 
to  my  heart,  being  so  closely  connected  with  our  beloved  mothers,  St. 
Benedicta  and  St.  Francis-Xavier.  The  former  was  my  teacher  in  the 
novitiate  ;  the  latter  Avas  my  sister  and  spiritual  daughter ;  and  as  such 

had  strong  claims  on  my  affection Sr.  St.  Croix  gave  you  the 

details  of  Mother  Xavier's  last  illness,  and  happy  death. 

Hid  you  seen  how  beautiful  she  looked  you  would  be  consoled  to 
know  that  the  spirit  was  happ}^  The  change  came  immediately  after 
death.  We  felt  no  repulsion  in  presence  of  the  remains  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, we  loved  to  contemplate  her  as  she  lay  on  her  bier. 

Your  last  letter  to  her  caused  her  so  much  emotion  that  I  was 
obliged  to  discontinue  reading  it.  Owing  to  her  loss  of  speech  she 
could  not  express  her  sentiments,  but  her  sobs  and  tears  spoke  her 
love  for  her  only  surviving  sister.  She  often  spoke  of  you  and  the 
other  members  of  her  family. 

During,  her  mother's  life  time  she  often  showed  me  her  letters, 
which  I  found  admirable.  Would  it  be  asking  too  much,  dear  sister, 
to  have  some  of  your  sister  Susan's  writing  and  the  account  of  your 
parent's  conversion  ?  We  will  be  so  grateful  for  it.  Be  kind  enouo-h 
to  pray  for  our  dear  M.  St.  Agnes  who  died  a  few  hours  after  your  dear 
sister,  St.  Agues. 

SR.  ST.  CATHRINE,  Superior. 


LETTER  FROM  SR.  ST.  CHARLES,  (To  Sr.  M.  Josephine). 

Many  thanks,  dear  sister,  for  your  sweet  little  picture,  which 
possesses  great  value  for  me,  as  it  comes  from  the  beloved  sister 
of  our  dear  departed  one.  Thanks  for  your  kind  words  in  Mere 
St.  Croix's  letter.  It  is  very  true,  that  I  would  not  have  done 
more  for  my  own  mother;  but  had  not  she  been  always  a  kind 
mother  to  me  from  my  childhood  ?  The  dear  invalid  suffered 
a  real  martyrdom  ;  but  always  patient  and  ever  cheerful.  Her 
piety  was  most  edifying.  It  was  my  pleasure  to  notice  the 
holy  expression  of  her  countenance  each  time  I  would  suggest  some 
aspiration  ;  and  whenever  I  appeared  to  forget  the  morning  or  night 
prayers,  she  would  point  to  the  holy  water  to  remind  me  of  my  duty. 
Whatever  she  desired  was  granted  by  the  tender  care  of  our  kind  Rev. 


122  CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 

Mother  Superior.  I  am  glad  her  sufferings  have  come  to  an  end,  but 
I  miss  her  very  much.  Her  cell  is  mine  now  ;  and  the  pictures  are  left 
just  as  she  arranged  them.  A  little  one  representing  the  Blessed 
Virgin  with  the  child  Jesus,  was  at  the  foot  of  her  bed,  in  the  folds  of 
the  curtains.  She  loved  to  look  at  it ;  and  when  I  said  the  words, 
printed  by  her  beneath  this  picture  :  "  Mary,  my  good  mother  !  "  she 
would  repeat  them  after  me,  her  lips  trembling  with  emotion.  Oh  ! 
I  now  hope  she  is  with  her  two  blessed  mothers  in  heaven,  praying  for 
you  and  for  us  all.     Adieu,  &c. 

Yours,  &c., 

SR.  ST.  CHARLES. 


REV,  SAMUEL  BARBER,  S.  J, 


The  reader  will  remember  two  letters  written  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Barber,  giving  an  account  of  the  illness  and  death  of  his  father.  The 
extract  of  the  Catholic  Mirror,  which  we  reproduce,  and  the  two  fol- 
lowing letters,  will  convince  us  that  Rev.  Samuel  Barber  was  not  an 
unworthy  son  of  his  admirable  and  saintly  parents. 


REV.     SxlMUEL    BARBER,     S.     J. 

Samuel  having  finished  his  noviceship  at  Whitemarsh,  Md.,  left 
for  Rome  in  August,  1832.  He  remained  in  Rome  about  eight  years. 
On  his  return  he  was  stationed  successively  at  Georgetown,  Frederick, 
Washington  City  and  St.  Thomas'  Manor,  at  which  last  he  died,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1864,  aged  50  years.  The  Rev.  Jesuit  Fathers  wrote  as  fol- 
lows : 
Dear  Sister  : 

Although  not  personally  acquainted,  I  write  to  give  you  some  par- 
ticulars of  the  life  and  last  illness  of  your  beloved  brother,  our  superior 
in  this  mission  ;  for  I  feel  sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  something 
about  him  from  one  who  witnessed  during  the  last  six  years  of  his 
mortal  career,  the  many  virtues  he  practiced.  In  his  private  life,  as  a 
religious  he  was  very  exact,  and  required  the  same  exactitude  from 
those  under  his  charge.  He  was  very  obedient  to  his  superiors,  and  I 
do  not  remember  to  have  heard  him  at  any  time,  complain  of  their  dis- 
positions. As  a  missionary  he  labored  strenuously  for  the  salvation  of 
souls.      Although  attentive  to  all,  the  poor  were  the  foremost  object  of 


BIOORAPmCAL  NOTICEB-REV.  SAMUEL  BARBER.    123 

his  thoughts  and  solicitudes.  Father  Barber  was  takca  sick  with  a 
severe  cold  in  January.  A  few  days  later  he  was  attacked  with  typhoid 
fever,  the  symptoms  of  which  soon  became  alarming.  The  two  doc- 
tors, however,  got  control  of  the  disease  ;  the  patient  began  to  improve 
and  was  considered  out  of  danger.  On  February  21st  a  sudden  change 
took  place  and  all  remedies  proved  unavailing.  He  calmly  expired  on 
the  23d,  1864,  aged  50,  after  having  received  the  sacraments.  We  have 
every  reason  to  hope  his  death,  though  a  great  loss  for  us,  is  a  gain 
for  him,  and  that  he  is  enjoying  the  reward  of  a  life  well  spent  in  the 

service  of  God. 

Yours,  &c., 

ANGELO  M.  PARESCE,  S.  J. 


DEATH  OF  FATHER  BARBER. 

Died  at  St.  Thomas'  Manor,  Charles  County,  Md.,  on  Friday,  Feb. 
23,  1864,  Rev.  Samuel  Joseph  Barber,  in  the  50th  year  of  his  age. 

He  w^as  born  on  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  March  19th,  1814.  His 
father,  V.  Barber,  and  his  grandfather,  Daniel  Barber,  were  Protes- 
tant ministers,  and  subsequently  converts  to  our  holy  faith.  His  father 
having  become  a  priest  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  his  mother  a  nun 
of  the  order  of  the  Visitation,  Samuel  Joseph,  who  was  then  very 
young,  was  placed  at  Georgetown  College,  D.  C,  where  he  graduated 
with  honor  in  his  17th  year,  and  immediately  entered  the  Society  of 
Jesus, 

After  two  years  of  novitiate,  made  partly  in  Georgetown  College, 
partly  at  Whitemarsh,  Prince  George's  county,  Md.,  he  was  sent 
to  Rome,  where  he  repeated  Philosophy,  studied  a  full  course  of 
Moral  and  Dogmatic  Theology,  and  having  been  ordained  priest, 
returned  to  his  native  country  in  1840.  Distinguished  by  the  requisite 
talents,  learning  and  virtue,  he  was  in  due  course  of  time  admitted 
to  the  solemn  profession  of  the  Four  Vows,  the  highest  grade  in 
his  order.  He  filled  with  ability  and  success  the  various  oflQces  of  vice 
president  and  professor  of  Georgetown  College,  master  of  novices  at 
Frederick,  President  of  Gozanga  College,  Washington,  and  pastor  of 
St.  Thomas',  Charles  County. 

Of  a  clear  and  cultivated  intellect,  of  a  pure  and  devout  heart,  and 
of  zeal  always  active  and  fervent,  he  possessed  in  no  ordinary  degree 
"the  wisdom  which  the  lips  of  the  priest  should  keep,"  and  "the 
holiness  that  becometh  the  house  of  God.  "  The  ignorant  whom  he 
instructed,  the  guilty  whom  he  reclaimed,  the  sorrowing  whom  he 
consoled,  the  poor  whom  he  assisted,  the  pious  whom  he  led  to  greater 


lU  CATHOLIC   MEMOIRS. 

sanctity  by  exhortation  and  example,  the  religious  and  especially  the 
priests,  who  received  from  him  their  first  lessons  in  the  Science  of  the 
Saints,  have  reason  long  to  remember  him  not  only  tearfully  but  pray- 
erfully, now  that  the  term  of  his  trial  is  over  and  he  is  gone  from  the 
scene  of  his  toils  on  his  journey  to  the  theatre  of  his  triumph,  from  his 
ministrations  at  the  humble  altars  of  earth,  to  worship  at  the  grand 
altar  of  heaven.  In  his  person,  that  branch  of  the  Barber  family  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  has  been  gloriously  terminated  by  the  Priest- 
hood ;  for  he  was  an  only  son,  and  his  sisters,  four  in  number,  all  im- 
itating the  lofty  example  of  their  pious  mother,  became  cloistered  reli- 
gious, God  richly  rewarding  by  so  sublime  a  vocation,  the  self-sacrifice 
of  their  father  and  grandfather,  who,  despite  the  puritan  prejudices  of 
a  Kew  England  education  and  the  strong  ties  of  blood,  friendship  and 
association,  severed  their  connection  with  the  Protestant  ministry, 
and  sought  religious  truth  and  peace  where  alone  they  can  be  found, 
in  the  bosom  of  the  only  spouse  of  Christ,  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic 
Church.— K.  I.  P.— [Catholic  Mirror. 


LETTER  OF  REV.  SAMUEL  BARBER  TO  HIS  MOTHER. 

COLLEGE  OF  THE  IsOBLES, 

Rome,  April  19,  18B5. 
Beloved  and  affectionate  mother  : 

Must  I  again  repeat  the  old  storj'— "I  had  no  time"— in  order  to 
excuse  my  long  delay  in  answering  your  affectionate  letters  Aug.  28 
and  Oct.  21,  1833  ;  which  a  mother's  heart  might  have  imagined  long 
ao-o  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  rather  than  suspect  her  son  could  have 
been  so  long  deaf  to  the  calls  of  filial  duty.  Xo,  I  have  not  written  ; 
the  letters  have  not  been  lost ;  so  much  I  confess. 

To  the  last  conclusion  let  your  maternal  heart  answer  ;  it  cannot 
but  defend  me.  During  the  last  scholastic  year  I  have  applied  to  the 
study  of  metaphysics  and  mathematics,  under  excellent  professors,  as 
no  doubt  you  must  have  learned  from  me  on  some  former  occasion. 
Last  August  I  underwent  the  usual  examination  in  both  branches  ;  and 
at  the  commencement  of  the  new  scholastic  year, —  that  is  about 
the  beginning  of  November,  I  was  put  to  study  the  second  year  of 
philosophy.  The  delight,  it  is  true,  arising  from  the  studies  of  the 
second  year  much  surpasses  that  which  is  experienced  in  the  dryer 
study  of  metaphysics  and  the  lower  branch  of  mathematics  ;  but  the 
labor  increases  in  proportion  to  the  pleasure.  Last  year  we  had  but 
two  professors  ;  this  year  we  have  three.      You  no  doubt  remember 


BIOGRAPUIGAL  NOTlCE^-liEV.  SAMUEL  BARBER.     125 

once  leading  me  to  visit  youv  famous  Odeon,  that  whilst  showing 
me  a  variety  of  mineral  specimens,  together  with  your  physical  and 
chemical  apparatus,  you  asked  me  whether  I  felt  no  interest  in  these 
studies  ?  showing  thereby  a  sort  of  wish  for  me  to  apply  to  them.  Be- 
hold your  desire  fully  accomplished  !  for  the  chief  studies  that  at 
present  occupies  my  time  and  attention,  are  those  of  physics  and 
chemistry.  Our  professors  arc  excellent.  The  professor  of  physics 
made  his  studies  in  Paris,  under  the  most  celebrated  professors  of  the 
present  day  in  France. 

Our  professor  in  chemistry  has  lately  written  and  pul)lished  a 
treatise  on  this  subject  in  four  volumes— in  Italian.  The  work  is  very 
much  esteemed,  as  well  for  the  beauty  of  the  language  as  for  the  chem- 
ical knowledge  therein  displayed.  I  have  often  wished  it  were  trans- 
lated into  English  that  I  might  send  you  a  copy. 

Our  fathers  in  Georgetown  have  the  first  two  volumes  in  their 
library,  and  I  expect  the  others  to  be  sent  on  shortly  from  Rome. 
You  might  perhaps  be  able  to  induce  some  one  at  the  college  to  translate 
them  for  you. 

The  third  school  to  which  I  attend  is  that  of  ethics. 

You  may  easily  I'udge  now,  how  much  spare  time  I  have.  But 
this  is  not  all.  Had  I  no  other  occupation  than  my  studies  I  should 
think  myself  well  off. 

You  must  have  noticed, — and  not  without  some  surprise,  that  my 
letter  is  not  dated  from  the  Roman  College  but  from  the  College  of 
Nobles.  Too  true,  indeed  !  The  scholastic  year  had  scarcely  com- 
menced, when  the  prefect  of  the  large  boys  in  the  said  college  w^as  obliged 
to  resign  his  post,  in  order  to  take  the  priesthood.  I  was  sent  to  fill  his 
place.  Although  I  find  my  hands  full,  nevertheless  I  feel  perfectly  con- 
tented. Moreover,  I  am  far  from  thinking  my  time  lost  in  having  to 
watch,  the  whole  day,  over  the  boys  entrusted  to  my  care.  Of  this  very 
duty  I  form  a  new  and  very  diligent  study,  applying  myself  to  learn  the 
character  and  inclinations  of  youth  ;  an  art  difficult  indeed,  but  which 
undoubtedly,  will  be  of  great  service  to  me  on  my  return  to  my  native 
country.  Besides,  the  order,  subordination  and  good  heart  of  the 
Italian  youth,  serve  in  a  great  measure  to  render  light  a  burden  which 
of  itself  might  be  calculated  to  oppress  me. 

In  one  of  yours  you  request  me  to  let  you  know  whether  my  sisters 
write.  I  received  one  letter  from  Mary,  Abey  and  Josephine,  and  two  from 
Susan  since  writing  to  them  ;  all  dated  1833,  except  Josephine's,  which 
was  dated  1834,  the  only  letter  she  had  written  me  since  her  leaving 
Georgetown  for  the  west.  All  these  letters  are  as  yet  unanswered. 
From  father  I  received  a  letter  about  tw^elve  months  ago,  in  which  he 
promises  me  a  copy  of  the  philosophy  which  was  to  be  printed  soon. 


126  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

This,  however,  I  have  not  yet  seen.  The  news  of  Susan's  illness  might 
perhaps  have  given  me  some  cause  of  grief,  had  I  not  learned  how 
"•reat  was  her  fervor  and  how  faithful  her  correspondence  with  the 
"•race  and  designs  of  God.  Happy  indeed,  is  she  (and  I  envy  her  hap- 
piness)  persuaded  as  she  is,  that  the  only  sure  way  to  heaven  is  the 
royal  way  of  the  cross.  I  cannot  express  the  great  satisfaction  I  felt 
on  reading  the  copy  of  her  letter  which  you  sent  me.  Father  Kohlmau, 
whom  I  see  of tener  this  year  than  before,  shows  great  affection  towards 
the  whole  family,  and  speaks  often  of  father  and  mother.  He  has 
become  old  and  his  limbs  tremble  a  great  deal,  but  nevertheless  he 
still  labors  much  for  the  conversion  of  souls  insomuch  that  he  has  not 
a  spare  moment.  He  did  net  fail  sending  me  the  letter  you  wrote  him. 
He  returns  many  thanks  and  hopes  you  will  write  often  ;  but  bids  me 
tell  vou  beforehand,  you  must  not  lie  surprised  if  he  is  unable  to  answer 

punctually. 

Remember  me  affectionately  to  Rev.  Mother  Superior,  &c. ,  &c.  I 
say  nothing  of  father  and  sisters  as  I  intend  writing  to  them.  Begging 
your  maternal  blessing,  &c. 

SAMUEL,  S.  J. 


BIOOIIAPHICAL    KOTIGES-SUSAN    BARBER.        127 


SUSAN    BARBER, 


IN   RELIGION 


SISTER    MARY   ST.    JOSEPH. 


The  reader  must  remember  the  very  kind  letter  which  Rev.  Virgil 
Barber  wrote  to  his  dear  Susan  on  December  31,  1836,  She  died  a  few 
days  after  receiving  that  letter.  The  reader  must  also  remember  the 
letters  written  by  Rev.  Samuel  Barber  on  the  occasion  of  her  death. 
We  have  found  nothing  written  by  Sister  Susan  herself. 

The  following  notice  which  was  sent  us  from  Three  Rivers,  where 
she  died  in  the  Ursuline  Convent,  will  be  read  with  interest : 

"  That  daughter  of  Rev.  V.  Barber,  who  came  to  Three  Rivers,  to 
take  her  profession,  was  born  at  New  Plaven,  Conn.,  January  4th,  1813. 

She  entered  the  boarding  school  of  the  Sisters  of  the 

Ursuline  of  Three  Rivers,  May  21,  1830,  and  remained  six  or  seven 
months  only.  As  her  education  was  so  far  advanced,  she  was  allowed 
to  put  on  the  habit  of  a  postulant  as  early  as  December  8th,  1830.  She 
took  the  white  veil  on  March  19,  1831,  under  the  name  of  Sister  Mary 
St.  Joseph,  and  made  her  profession  as  Choir  Sister  on  March  19, 
1833.  She  alv/ays  remained  the  model  of  the  other  religious,  both 
before  and  after  her  profession.  She  was  remarkable  by  her  fervor 
and  her  generosity  in  the  practice  of  all  the  virtues  becoming  religious, 
and  especially  that  of  holy  obedience.  Need  we  wonder  that  this 
flower  of  the  cloister  was  so  early  in  life  gathered  by  the  heavenly 
spouse  ?    She  died  as  the  saints  die  on  January  24,  1537.  " 


128  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


[[EVEREND  WILLIAM  HENRY  HOYT, 


LATE  OF  ST.  ANXE'S  CHURCH,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


"  May  the  blood  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  my  soul  unto 
life  everlasting." 

"  May  the  Lord  Almighty  and  merciful  grant  you  the  indulgence, 
absolution  and  remission  of  all  your  sins.  " 

His  last  words  at  the  altar,  after  which  he  fell  gently  on  the  plat- 
form, and  never  arose. 


REV.  AVILLIAM  HENRY  HOYT. 


With  the  heart  full  of  tender  emotion  at  the  remembrance  of  dear 
Father  Hoyt,  we  begin  compiling  the  following  sketch  of  his  life,  from 
his  own  diary,  the  information  received  of  some  of  his  friends  and 
relations,  and  also  from  our  own  personal  recollections. 

On  the  8th  day  of  December,  1883,  "  at  his  own  desire,  he  sang  the 
High  Mass  on  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  (at  St.  Anne's 
Church,  New  York).  During  that  Mass  it  was  noticed  that  he  appeared 
very  strong,  and  sang  with  extraordinary  vigor,  a  few  moments  only  be- 
fore the  stroke  of  death  seized  him.  He  gave  himself  his  own  viaticum, 
opened  the  tabernacle,  said  the  misercatur  and  indulgcntiam.  Those 
were  the  last  words  he  ever  spoke  ;  his  hands  fell,  he  turned  with  his 
last  strength  to  the  altar,  and  gently  fell  before  it."  (Father  Preston, 
in  memoriam  Wmilliam  H.  Hoyt) 

We  had  known  him,  loved  and  venerated  him  during  many  years 
in  Vermont,  but  his  death,  so  precious  before  God  and  man,  made  him  if 
possible  dearer  to  our  heart,  and  we  humbly  beg  God's  grace  to  enable 
us  to  make  him  better  known,  so  that  others  may  be  encouraged  to 
walk  in  his  steps. 

William  Henry  Hoyt  was  born  in  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  on 
January  8th,  1813.  He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1881, 
and  after  pursuing  a  course  of  study  at  Andover  Theological  Semin- 
ary, Andover,  Mass.,  and  at  the  general  Theological  Seminary,  New 


REV.     WILLIAM  II.    110 YT.  129 

York  Q\i\,  was  ordained  a  clergyman  of  tlic  Protestant  Episcopal 
Clmrcli  by  Bishop  Griswold  in  1836. 

After  his  ordination  he  was  for  a  year  or  more  employed  as  pro- 
fessor in  Bishop  Hopkins'  Seminary  in  Burlington,  Vt.,  where  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  his  future  wife,  Miss  Anne  Deming. 

From  Burlington  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Middlebury,  Vt.,  where  he  remained  about  a  year. 

Young  as  he  was  at  this  time  he  was  already  remarked  on  account 
of  his  talent  and  virtue.  One  of  his  early  acquaintances,  (Bishop 
Wadhams  of  Ogdensburg)  writes  thus  of  him  :  "  I  loved  him  and  con- 
fided in  him,  and  followed  his  advice  in  regard  to  reading  religious 
books  ;  but  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  college  where  I  was." 

In  the  year  1838  he  was  installed  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at 
St.  Albans,  Vt.,  (St.  Luke's).  His  marriage  took  place  on  August  21st, 
1838. 

What  we  most  admired  in  our  venerable  friend  was  his  prompt, 
generous  obedience  to  the  call  of  Divine  grace.  His  habitual  dis- 
position was  that  of  Saul  prostrated  on  the  road  to  Damascus  :  "Lord, 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  "  He  was  a  Protestant  minister,  and 
told  us  that  "he  was  never  satisfied,  as  to  the  doctrine  and  origin  of 
his  church  ;  he  was  as  yet  in  darkness,  but  willing  to  folloAV  the  light ; 
and  resolved  to  seek  it  and  to  use  every  means  in  his  power  in  order  to 
obtain  that  grace."  On  April  11th,  1843,  he  wrote  :  "Visited  sick  child 
and  baptized  it  ;  attended  evening  prayer  at  3,  preached  No.  251  . . . 
was  very  faint  from  protracted  fasting  and  labors,  not  having  eaten 
yesterday  or  to-day  till  evening.  " 

On  April  12th.  "  Read  the  morning  prayer,  took  some  slight  re- 
freshment this  noon  after  sacrament,  being  admonished  by  yesterday's 
experience,  and  also  of  former  occasions,  that  my  strength  will  not 
bear  me  up  under  so  much  writing  and  performance  of  public  service 
without  doing  so." 

On  Sept.  27th,  1843.  "  For  more  than  a  week  past  excitement  of 
Convention,  absence  from  home  and  company  and  disturbance  of  habits 
of  devotion,  have  put  me  off  my  guard,  and  I  have  been  more  than 
usually  careless,  and  have  more  frequently  and  greviously  sinned. 
Especially  my  thoughts  have  been  unregulated,  and  I  have  been  un- 
guarded in  my  conversation.  And  to-day  I  have  been  very  wicked, 
both  in  thoughts  and  also  in  outv/ard  conduct.  If  I  am  to  meet  with 
such  relapses  much  more,  after  seasons  of  earnest  strictness  and  fidelity, 
what  is  to  become  of  me  ?  My  account  at  the  last  will  be  dreadful  in- 
deed. Let  me  therefore  put  this  here  as  a  record,  from  which  to  start 
anew  ;  and  endeavor  for  all  coming  days  that  may  be  yet  allowed  to 
me,  to  be  more  constant  and  unerring— to  guard  better  my  thoughts 

9 


133  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS 

and  the  general  current  of  my  feelings,  and  to  refrain  from  careles 
and  imreflecting  conversation." 

Ash  Wednesday,  Feb.  5th,  1845.  "  Read  Mr.  Newman's  sermon  on 
Life  the  season  of  repentence."  Vol.  6,  sermon  2d.  Took  a  single  cup 
of  coffee,  and  a  small  piece  of  toast  in  the  morning  to  sustain  me 
through  the  service,  and  Wmn  fasted  till  erening.  " 

On  Thursday,  January  8th,  1841.  This  is  my  birthday — 33  years 
old  to-day.  Time  flieth  away — and  it  is  short— 'converse  in  fear  during 
the  time  of  your  sojourn  here. '  " 

Mr.  Hoyt's  gratitude  to  God  and  resigi^aticn  to  His  will  appear  from 
the  following  passages  of  his  diary  : 

29th  November,  1843.  "  This  morning  at  about  4  o'clock,  dear 
Anne  gave  birth  to  a  fine  boy.  God  be  devoutly  thanked  for  His  goodness 
to  us." 

August  21st,  1845.  "  This  is  the  anniversary  of  our  marriage. 
Seven  years  ago  to-day,  my  dear  Anne  and  myself  were  happily  joined 
in  holy  wedlock,  and  a  happy  union  has  it  thus  far  proved  to  be.  May 
it  ever  continue  to  be  so,  and  ?nai/our  Lord  make  it  of  long  continuance, 
if  it  shall  so  please  Him." 

From  the  preceding  extracts  of  Mr.  Hoyt's  diary,  we  see  how 
earnestly  he  endeavored  to  serve  God  whose  laws  he  seemed  never  to 
forget.  The  congregation  of  which  he  had  charge  at  St.  Albans  was 
small,  and  made  up  of  families  well  to  do  in  the  world.  To  the  spirit- 
ual welfare  of  this  flock,  he  devoted  himself  in  the  best  way  he  could, 
visiting  and  consoling  the  sick  and  the  dying,  baptizing  the  infant 
children,  preaching  from  the  pulpit,  etc. 

We  could  not  but  notice  in  reading  his  diary,  how  careful  he  was 
to  procure  the  decoration  of  his  church  and  especially  how  great  care  he 
took  in  teaching  his  choir,  and  selecting  the  music  suitable  to  the  dif- 
ferent festivals  and  seasons  of  the  year. 

We  stated  already  that  Mr.  Hoyt  told  us  that  he  never  was  satis- 
fied in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  which  he  was  a  minister.  In 
crder  to  obtain  light  concerning  the  all  important  subject  of  religion, 
he  applied  himself  to  lead  a  very  good  life  ;  and  to  implore  the  guid- 
ance of  heaven  ;  and  moreover  he  spared  no  money  in  order  to  procure 
the  books  and  papers  published  in  England  at  that  time  by  Dr.  Pusey 
and  his  disciples. 

After  reading  a  review  of  one  Mr.  Palmer's  narrative  about  "  The 
Tracts  for  the  Times,"  he  writes  in  his  diary  : 

December.  Saturday,  2d,  1843.  "We  certainly  are  li\ing  in 
trying  times,  and  times  fraught  with  anxious  yet  obscure  forebodings 
of  the  future.  Divided,  distracted,  and  (humanly  speaking)  guideless. 
What  is  to  become  of  us  ?    God  knows,  and  He  surely  is  ordaining  all 


REV,     WILLIAM  U.    IIOYT.  131 

things  for  the  best.  '  In  quietness  and  confidence  then  shall  be  our 
strength.'  Again  I  say,  what  will  be  the  issue  ?  May  we  all  steadily 
go  onward  in  our  duty." 

On  28th  December,  184a,he  wrote  :  "Took  up  Bishop  Mcllvainc's  last 
charge  to  his  clergy,  lie  may  be  well  taken  as  a  specimen  of  the  modern 
(so  called)  Evangelical  school.  If  it  were  not  for  the  reflection  that  our 
blessed  Lord  has  Himself  so  fully  shown  the  true  temper,  tenor,  teach- 
ing and  truth  of  His  gospel,  in  the  four  gospels  or  narratives  of  the 
Evangelists,  and  that  we  have  His  sure  promise,  to-be  always  with  His 
c'lurch,  to  maintain  that  gospel  in  it,  one  might  well  be  distracted  and 
discouraged  at  seeing  such  writing  ex  cathedra." 

On  the  day  following,  December  29th,  1843,  he  read  a  book  of 
which  he  writes:  "Read  to  Anne  St.  Thomas  Becket's  life  from 
Butler  (Lives  of  the  Saints)  this  being  his  Calendar  day.  A  good  and 
holy  man,  as  he  w^as  confessedly  great  and  influential.  But  it  is  the 
temper  of  our  age,  wholly  to  misunderstand  such  men." 

Mrs.  Anne  Hoyt,  his  admirable  wife,  had  investigated  the  claims 
of  the  Catholic  Church  with  as  much  care  and  earnestness  as  her  hus- 
band. She  was  in  fact  more  anxious  to  enter  the  church  than  her  hus- 
band, and  seven  months  before  her  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith  she 
signified  by  note  to  her  sister,  (Mrs.  Maria  Tucker)  her  intention  of 
entering  the  Catholic  Church.  Our  venerable  friend  continued  his  in- 
vestigations and  prayers.  He  read  with  serious  attention  the  writings 
of  Dr.  Newman,  Brownson  and  others  bearing  upon  the  subject,  cor- 
responded with  Dr.  Pise  of  New  York  and  others,  and  sometimes  as 
occasion  offered  itself  visited  Catholic  Churches,  attended  its  services 
and  conversed  with  Catholic  priests,  towards  whom,  as  he  declared  to 
us,  he  could  not  help  bat  to  feel  attracted. 

On  December  30th,  1845,  he  "  wrote  to  the  wardens  and  vestry  of 
the  parish  resigning  the  pastoral  care  of  the  parish."  On  this  occasion 
contrary  to  his  practice  of  merely  writing  down  facts,  in  his  diary,  we 
find  recorded  the  following  short  remark  :  "  Much  feeling  occasioned 
among  my  parishioners,  by  the  step,  and  feel  not  a  little  moved  my- 
self." Our  venerable  friend  had  for  successor  in  the  charge  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Albans,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perry,  of  whom  he  wrote 
in  his  diary  : 

Februaj-y  13th,  1846.  "  Mr.  Perry  read  (at  matins)  as  usual,  and 
I  sat  in  the  organ  gallery.  Mr.  P.  is  now  fully  rector,  having  been 
formally  invited  by  the  vestry  and  having  accepted— so  my  powers  and 
responsibilities  have  entirely  ceased." 

On  the  15th  January  Mr.  Hoyt  had  written  "  to  Father  Richard 
of  Montreal,"  probably  about  the  subject  which  occupied  his  whole 


133  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

attention,  for  he  mentions  receiving  a  parcel  from  him  (books  no  doubt) 
and  it  was  by  liim  he  was  baptized.* 

A  remarkable  trait  in  his  character  was  generosity,  which  I  would 
rather  call  prompt  obedience  to  the  call  of  Divine  Grace.  He  had  for 
a  long  time  investigated  and  pra5'ed.  All  his  doubts  had  disappeared, 
and  time  to  enter  the  church  had  arrived.  On  July  34th,  1846,  he  sent 
a  communication  to  Bishop  Hopkins,  containing  a  renunciation  of  the 
Protestant  ministry,  etc.,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  left  in 
the  boat  for  Montreal.  " 

HIS    RECEPTION    IN    THE     CATHOLIC    CHURCH, 

S5th    JULY,     1846. 

"  Arrived  at  Montreal  at  10  A.  M.  At  half-past  twelve  had  an  inter- 
view with  Rev.  Mr.  Richard,  and  soon  after  was  admitted  to  confes- 
sion by  him  in  the  chapel  of  the  Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  received  con- 
ditional baptism  from  his  hands,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Connelly  being  present, 
and  made  my  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  after  which  having  done 
the  required  penance,  received  sacramental  absolution  ;  went  with  Mr. 
Connelly  to  Bishop  Bovirget,  had  an  interview  with  him  and  asked  and 
received  his  blessing.  By  advice  of  Mr.  Richard  am  to  make  my 
communion  early  to-morrow  morning." 

On  July  36th  the  newly  baptized  convert  "  rose  early  and  went  to 
the  5  o'clock  Mass,  at  the  large  Parish  Church.  Rev.  Mr.  Richard 
said  Mass,  and  with  numerous  others  I  received  the  Holy  Sacrament — 

aud  I  for  the  first  time, 7imy  I  ever  (jratefuUy  and  elevoiitly  rememher 

it,  as  also  the  events  of  yesterday  !  lam  at  last  a  CatJwllc,  God  be  thanked  ! 
May  I  by  His  grace  be  ever  kept  a  good  and  faithful  one  !  " 

Our  fervent  convert  spent  the  rest  of  that  blessed  day  in  attending 
solemn  High  Mass  in  the  Cathedral  r.nd  Vespers  in  the  Parish  Church 
of  Kotre  Dame,  and  in  the  evening  went  again  to  confession.  On  the 
next  day  he  went  to  the  early  Mass  and  again  received  communion. 

From  the  intimate  acquaintance  we  Lad  with  our  friend,  we  sin- 
cerely believe  that  from  the  day  of  his  admission  in  the  Catholic  Church 
to  that  of  his  death  he  had  not  so  much  as  a  doubt  in  matters  of  religion. 
But  at  this  time  of  his  Catholic  baptism,  how  could  he  forget  his  dear 
wife  and  children  ?  Having  spoken  to  the  Bishop  of  Montreal,  Mgr. 
Bourget,  of  her  anxious  desire  to  enter  the  church,  the  Prelate  gave 
him  a  letter  for  Father  Mignault,  parish  priest  of  Chambly  on  the  Rich- 
elieu, and  the  devout  convert  went  immediately  to  Chambly  to  see  the 


*  Rev.  Father  Kicbard,  formerly  a  zealous  Metiiodist  minister,  had  gone  to  Montreal 
to  try  to  convert  the  Sulpic'.an.s,  but  was  converted  by  th(in  and  became  a  member  of  their 
congregation  and  community. 


^^K     WILLIAM  II.    IIOTT.  133 

reverend  father  to  makC  arrang'ements  for  the  baptism  of  j\Ir.s.  Iloyt 
and  children.  He  was  wamly  received  by  Father  Mignauh,  and  made 
arrangements  to  go  to  Burlington  and  bring  his  family  to  Chambly  on 
the  following  Friday.* 

Mr.  Hoyt  according  to  appointment  arrived  at  Chambly  on  the 
next  Friday  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  in  the  afternoon  went  to 
visit  the  venerable  pastor.  We  will  let  him  speak  of  the  events  of  this 
precious  day. 

August  1st,  1846-  "  Early  this  morning  Anne  and  myself  attended 
Mass  with  Charles  and  William  (the  two  older  boys).  P.  M.  Anne 
went  to  confession,  made  her  solemn  profession  in  the  parish  church 
(St.  Joseph's)  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Mignault  and  Mr.  Provencal,  and 
received  conditional  baptism  with  the  full  ceremonies.  In  the  evening- 
Bishop  Bourget  arrived  from  Montreal — went  to  confession  myself.  " 
On  the  next  day.  "  Anne  and  myself  attended  the  Bishop's  Mass  and 
received  from  his  hands  the  Sacrament  of  the  Holy  Eucharist.  After 
the  Mass  the  Bishop  administered  to  both  of  us  the  sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation. We  did  not  attend  the  Parochial  Mass,  but  at  its  close,  the 
congregation  being  desired  to  remain,  we  went  to  the  church  and  the 
Right  Reverend  Bishop  baptized  our  children  solemnly  before  the  high 
altar.  The  three  boys  conditionally  and  the  babe  for  the  first  time. 
We  all  dined  at  Mr.  Mignault's  with  the  Bishop  and  those  who  had  stood 
sponsors. 

"  Our  stay  at  Chambly  was  very  pleasant.  The  place  is  beautiful 
for  its  natural  scenery,  and  altogether  we  have  brought  away  with  us, 
feelings  and  recollections  and  associations  never  to  be  forgotten.  " 

Mr.  Hoyt  remained  with  his  family  at  St.  Albans  after  his  baptism 
till  the  year  1859.  He  was  not  now"  a  Protestant  minister,  but  a  lay- 
man in  the  Catholic  Church.  Here  in  his  own  quiet  w^ay  he  began 
and  continued  to  do  what  all  good  Catholics  should  do.  1^,  With 
regard  to  himself  he  was  most  punctual  in  observing  all  the  laws  of 
the  church,  but  he  even  did  more  than  what  is  commanded.  He  acted 
according  to  the  spirit  of  the  church,  going  to  Mass  every  day  when  it 
was  in  his  power,  and  receiving  holy  communion  several  times  every 
week.  At  the  close  of  his  life  he  received  communion  every  day  as 
the  early  christians  did.  To  him  it  was  immaterial  who  the  celebrant 
w^as,  or  who  the  priest  who  could  hear  his  confession.  For  over  a  year 
after  his  baptism,  there  was  no  residing  clergyman  in  St.  Albans,  and 
then  when  a  priest  would  come  thither  from  other  parts,  j\Ir.  Hoyt 

*  Kcverend  Father  Mignault,  the  venerable  parish  priest  of  Chambly,  may  be  said  to 
be  the  first  missionary  of  Vermont.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Iloyt's  baptism  he  was  Vicar 
General  of  the  Diocese  of  Boston  ;  a  dignity  which  was  conferred  also  on  him  for  the  Diocese 
of  Burlington  at  the  time  of  its  erection  in  1853. 


134  CATHOLIC    3IEM0IRS: 

m 

would  invariably  improve  the  opportunity  by  receiving  the  sacra- 
ments, and  hearing  Mass,  whether  said  in  a  hall  or  a  private  house,  and 
sometimes  following  the  priest  to  other  missions  in  the  neighborhood 
of  St.  Albans. 

In  his  journeys  from  home,  he  would  never  fail  to  hear  Mass, 
visit  the  blessed  sacrament,  and  the  first  words  in  his  diary  from  this 

time  to  that  of  his  ordination  were  :     "  went  to  Mass  to ,  received 

holy  communion,  or  could  not  go  to  Mass "    We  have  always 

admired  how  obedient  he  wcs  to  his  pastors,  how  affectionate  and 
respectful  towards  them. 

With  regard  to  the  care  of  his  children  we  have  learned  from  a 
certain  source,  that  after  his  baptism  he  never  failed  to  say  one  decade 
on  the  beads  every  day  for  each  one  of  them,  so  anxious  was  he  to  pro- 
cure their  santification  and  perseverence  ;  and  he  never  spared  any 
sacrifice  in  order  to  have  them  educated  in  Catholic  colleges  or  convent 
schools.  One  of  his  most  sweet  practices  of  devotion  was  to  render 
thanks  to  God  on  the  recurring  anniversaries  of  the  birth,  baptism  or 
first  communion  of  his  children,  to  offer  communion  for  them  and  pray 
for  their  perseverance. 

In  relation  to  his  conduct  towards  his  neighbor,  although  he  was 
not  a  priest,  he  acted  the  part  of  an  apostle  amongst  the  Catholics  of 
St.  Albans.  In  the  absence  of  a  priest  and  of  a  place  for  Divine  Avorship, 
he  invited  the  Catholics  to  his  house  and  would  read  good  books  for  them 
also  recite  prayers  and  the  rosary.  He  lost  no  time  in  informing  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  Boston  concerning  the  spiritual  destitution  of  that 
distant  part  of  his  flock,  and  did  in  reality  obtain  a  priest  for  the 
Catholics  of  St.  Albans  en  the  21st  June,  1847.  This  was  the  Reverend 
Father  George  Hamilton. 

The  arrival  and  residence  of  a  priest  at  St.  Albans  was  for  the 
congregation  the  beginning  of  a  new  life.  Mr.  Hoyt,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, began  at  once  to  exert  himself  towards  procuring  a  church  for 
the  celebration  of  Mass.  He  was  in  reality  the  soul  of  the  undertaking, 
but  always  under  the  guidance  of  the  reverend  pastor.  His  diary  states 
briefly  the  steps  he  took  first  to  procure  a  lot,  then  plans  for  a  church 
and  above  all  money  to  carry  on  the  work  of  building.  The  lot  of 
ground  which  they  purchased  is  the  one  now  covered  by  the  church 
and  the  priest's  house.  When  the  lot  was  bought  there  was  a  houte 
standing  on  it.  This  was  moved  towards  the  west  part  of  the  grounds 
and  fitted  up  for  a  temporary  building.  Here  they  had  now  Mass,  if  not 
every  Sunday,  at  least  at  regular  intervals,  and  this  was  the  place  which 
our  friend  loved  to  visit  and  to  adorn,  for  there  was  the  real  presence  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  heavenly  bread,  the  only  food,  which  he 
knew  well  can  give  life  to  the  soul.      The  Catholics  of  St.  Albans  re- 


REV.     WILLIAM  IL    IIOTT.  135 

member  well  how  devoutly  he  prayed  there,  and  how  zealously  he 
lielped  them  in  their  devotions  in  the  absence  of  the  priest,  and  also 
with  what  care  he  would  prepare  the  singing  of  the  Gregorian  chant 
for  Mass  and  Vespers.  The  task  of  building  a  church  is  a  terrible  one, 
especially  when  the  funds  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  parish.  This,  alas, 
was  the  case  in  St.  Albans.  The  people  were  very  poor,  quite  inca- 
pable of  providing  the  necessary  funds,  and  Mr.  Hoyt  knew  it  well. 
He  therefore  resolved  to  do  the  only  thing  which  could  be  done  in  the 
case,  and  that  was  to  go  out  of  St.  Albans  and  beg,  and  he  visited  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Troy,  Boston,  and  some  of  those  places 
more  than  once.  Troublesome  as  the  w^ork  of  begging  money  is,  we 
fancy  that  our  venerable  friend  experienced  much  consolation  in  those 
expeditions,  for  he  was  everywhere  well  received  by  the  clergy  who  were 
not  slow  to  appreciate  the  worth  of  our  venerable  convert.  He  was 
welcomed  by,  and  we  think  became  very  dear  to,  the  Most  Reverend 
Archbishops  Hughes  and  Kenrick,  as  also  to  Mgrs.  McCloskey,  Fitz- 
patrick  and  others.  The  progress  of  the  Church  in  America  which  he 
witnessed  in  those  excursions,  must  have  been  particularly  gratifying  to 
a  man  so  devoted  to  the  church  as  Mr.  Hoyt. 

On  the  13th  July,  1849,  Mr.  Hoyt  and  the  other  Catholics  of  St.  Albans 
had  the  consolation  to  witness  the  blessing  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  fu- 
ture editice,  which  is  now  after  its  completion  a  very  fine  structure.  The 
ceremonies  were  performed  by  Mgr.  McCloskey,  at  that  time  Bishop  of 
Albany,  and  afterw^ards  Archbishop  of  New  York  and  Cardinal  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Church.  The  same  distinguished  prelate  "preached  a 
noble  discourse,  very  edifying  and  eloquent.  "  Mr.  Hoyt  had  desired 
the  church  to  be  erected  in  honor  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and 
he  lived  long  enough  to  witness  its  dedication  to  Almighty  God,  under 
the  name  and  patronage  of  our  Mother  Immaculate. 

It  was  natural  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Hoyt  would  not  fail  to  procure 
for  his  friends  and  former  parishioners  the  happiness  that  he  and  his 
family  now^  enjoyed.  In  order  to  obtain  this  result,  he  spared  neither 
visits,  explanations,  and  lengthy  correspondence.  The  letters  exchanged 
between  him  and  Professor  George  Allen  of  Philadelphia  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  church  were  particularly  interesting.  We  have  counted  up 
more  than  fifty  persons  who,  at  that  time  owed  to  him  their  conversion 
or  education  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  many  of  those  were  persons  of 
superior  education  and  high  standing  in  society.  Mr.  Hoyt  and  his 
venerable  wife  stood  up  as  sponsors  for  many  of  these,  and  they  all 
loved  to  visit  his  hospitable  home.  He  was  in  fact  so  humble,  so  kind 
and  attractive,  and  in  the  meantime  so  learned,  that  he  was  to  converts 
especially  a  tower  of  strength,  and  to  all  clergy  and  laity  the  object  cf 
truest  veneration. 


136  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Wlien  Mr.  Hoyt  left  St.  Albans  in  1860  in  order  to  go  to  Burling- 
ton, he  left  in  the  former  place  a  striking  monument  of  his  zeal  in  the 
beautiful  church  erected  chiefly  through  his  exertions ;  and  in  the 
hearts,  we  dare  say  of  all,  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics,  the  sweet 
memory  of  his  humble,  charitable  life. 

A  few  years  after  his  moving  to  Burlington,  they  might  see  at  St. 
Albans  another  structure  intimately  connected  with  the  memory  of  our 
friend.     We  refer  here  to  the  convent  boarding  school  kept  by  the  Sis- 
ters of  the  Congregation  of  that  village.      Amongst  the  persons  whom 
Mr.  Hoyt  encouraged  and  comforted  in  their  trials  when  they  thought 
of  joining  the  church,  were  the  now  well  known  three  Sisters,  {Tlie 
Young  Converts  of  Mrs.  Julia  Smalley)  Misses  Debby,  Helen  and  Anna 
Barlow.     To  the  father  of  these  three  dear  saintly  girls,  :Mr.  Hoyt  had 
sold  his  beautiful  property  lying  south  across  the  street   from  the 
Catholic  Church.      In  this  house  Anna,  the  youngest  of  the  three,  and 
Debby,  the  eldest,  lived  and  died  after  a  long-lingering  illness.    In  this 
house  they  had  been  welcomed  and  comforted  by  Mr.  Hoyt,  both  in 
health  and  in  sickness.   In  this  house  also  Debby  Barlow  had  been  visited 
and  comforted  in  her  dying  hours  by  some  of  the  religious  of  Montreal 
who  had  been  her  former  teachers.  Well,  there  stands  now  on  that  spot 
an  institution  of  devoted  Sisters  who  spend  their  lives  in  praying  and 
instructing  children,  poor  and  rich.     The  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Hoyt 
has  been  taken  down  and  replaced  by  a  building  suited  for  a  boarding 
house  and  school ;  but  the  chapel  we  are  told  occupies  the  site  of  the 
room  in  which  the  two  dear  sisters  suffered  and  died.      When  in  later 
years  Mr.  Hoyt  visited  St.  Albans  from  Burlington,  or  when  at  a  still 
later  period  he,  being  a  priest,  visited  it  from  New  York,  avc  well 
imagine  how  he  felt  rejoiced  at  the  sight  of  the  church  and  of  the  con- 
vent, for  of  him  it  might  be  said,  "  O  Lord  I  have  loved  the  beauty  of 
Thy  house,  and  the  place  where  Thy  glory  dwelleth.  " 

a.     We  have  endeavored  to  show  how  careful  Mr.  Hoyt  was  to 


a.  Kev.  William  H.  Hoyt  lived  wilh  us  here  in  Burlington  during-  many  years.  He 
continued  in  this  city  to  lead  the  same  kind  of  life  which  he  had  lead  in  St.  Albans,  always 
remarkable  by  his  gentleness,  humility,  fidelity  to  Deity.  No  one  could  be  more  punctual 
than  he  was  in  the  discharge  of  the  several  offices  which  he  occupied  here.  For  some  years 
he  had  charge  of  the  organ  at  the  Cathedral ;  performing  this  office  for  some  of  the  tmie 
without  any  remuneration.  The  congregation  never  had  to  complain  of  his  absence  or  tardi- 
ness at  the  time  of  the  service,  and  according  to  our  opinion  he  had  the  gift  of  drawing  out  of 
the  instrument,  harmonies  in  keoping  with  the  innocence  and  fervour  of  his  soul.  We 
always  loved  lo  meet  him  M-hether  alone  or  in  company,  for  he  could  not  fail  to  impress  us 
with  the  idea  that  he  v.-alked  under  the  eyes  of  his  Maker,  that  he  felt  His  presence.  Above 
all,  we  loved  to  behold  him  making  his  way  to  the  church  or  to  chapels  in  which  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  kept,  in  order  to  assist  at  Mass  or  to  spend  some  time  in  prayer  and  adoration. 
We  loved  to  see  him  kneeling  amongst  a  crowd  of  penitents  patiently  waiting  for  his  turn 
to  enter  the  confessional. 


BEV.     WILLIAM  IL    IIOTT.  1B7 

procure  llie  sanclilication  of  his  family  by  prayer  and  good  examples,  and 
we  may  add  that  he  spared  not  remonstrances  and  admonitions,  when 
they  were  necessary.  The  few  following  quotations  will  show  that  he 
was  a  model  of  a  Christian  husband.  His  dear  wife  in  every  respect 
worthy  of  him  might  be  seen  hearing  Mass  and  receiving  her  commun- 
ion with  her  husband  almost  every  day  at  St.  Stephen's  Church,  when 
they  resided  in  New  York. 

On  Sunday,  January  10th,  1875,  he  wrote  in  his  diary  : 

"It  was  this  morning  that  dear  Anne  and  myself  were  at  Mass 
and  communion  together  for  the  last  time.  She  was  a  little  in  advance 
of  me,  there  being  a  crowd  of  communicants,  and  thus  received  first,  I 
having  to  wait  till  the  next  railing  was  filled.  She  expressed  regret 
afterwards  at  this  ;  it  being  her  custom  and  her  pleasure  to  kneel  at 
my  right  side  and  receive  with  me.  It  was  her  last  communion,  and 
thus  proved  to  be  her  viaticum.  She  was  more  than  usually  devout 
both  at  communicating  and  afterwards.  " 

We  have  seen  few  married  persons  who  so  perfectly  realized  as 
they  did  the  precept  of  the  Apostle  St.  Paul.  "  Husbands  love  your 
wives  as  Christ  also  loved  the  church  and  delivered  Himself  up  for  it, 

that  He  might  sanctify  it so  also  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as 

their  own  bodies  He  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself.  For  no  man 
ever  hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it  as  also  Christ 
doth  the  church.  Because  we  are  members  of  His  bod}^  of  His  flesh, 
and  of  His  bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife  ;  and  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh. 
This  is  a  great  sacrament,  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the  church. 
Nevertheless  let  every  one  of  you  in  particular  love  his  wife  as  himself 
and  let  the  wife  fear  her  husband."     (Eph.  v.  25  and  foil). 

Our  venerable  friend  considered  his  consort  as  a  gift  from  God,  a 
gift  for  which  he  never  omitted  to  return  thanks,  on  the  anniversaries 
of  their  marriage,  communion,  confirmation,  etc.  At  the  date  of  January 
16th,  1875,  we  have  the  memorandum  :  "A  sad  and  memorable  day 
for  me  and  my  dear  family,  my  dear  wife  having  died  this  evening  at 
twenty  minutes  before  six.      She  lies  to-night  as  laid  out  by  the  hands 

of  the  dear  daughters  N....,1S ,N....,  and  looking  very  calmly 

and  sweetly. . .  .God  rest  her  soul  !  "  We  have  learned  from  another 
source  of  a  touching  scene  which  was  witnessed  at  the  death  bed  of 
Mistress  Anne  Hoyt. 

"  At  the  time  of  his  wife's  decease,  the  wife  so  inexpressedly  dear 
to  him,  his  first  thought  was  for  her  soul,  his  great  care  that  no  word 
of  loving  praise  should  be  uttered  that  might  be  a  cause  of  temptation 
or  disturbance  to  her  ;  that  each  of  her  children  should  ask  forgiveness 
for  whatever  in  their  past  lives  had  given  her  pain,  himself  leadinrj  the 


138  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

icay  and  asking  it  for  himself  and  the  absent  daughter  ;  then,  vdien  the 
sacrifice  was  completed,  his  conformity  to  the  sweet  will  of  God  ! 
Oh  who  could  portray  it?"  The  sacrifice  is  over,  and  the  afflicted  hus- 
band exclaims  in  his  sorrow  :  "  Alas,  I  am  beginning  to  realize  that 
now  I  am  alone.  "  But  he  was  not  sorrowful  as  those  icho  have  no  hope. 
In  this  dark  hour  of  his  life,  he  kept  his  eyes  steadily  fixed  upon  the 
light  of  faith  and  he  followed  it  steadily. 

The  day  following  the  death  of  his  dear  Anne  he  received  com- 
munion at  7.30  and  assisted  at  the  8  o'clock  Mass  ;  on  the  next  day,  he 

*'  rose  early,  went  over  to  church  to  confession at  the  seven  o'clock 

Mass  the  family  were  all  present  except  N ...  and  N  . .  and  we  all  went  to 
communion  together  for  dear  Anne."  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
they  left  on  the  4.36  train  for  Burlington,  "carrying  dear  Anne's  body 
with  them,  and  proceeded  on  their  sad  journey  homeward  to  Vermont. " 
They  arrived  at  Burlington  at  5.30  the  next  morning,  "the  corpse  had 
borne  the  journey  safely,  and  dear  Anne  looked  as  beautiful  and  smil- 
ing in  death,  as  when  we  closed  the  casket  in  New  York."  The  inter- 
ment was  to  take  place  on  the  next  day.  Mr.  Hoyt,  true  to  the  inspira- 
tion of  faith,  we  should  also  say  it,  guided  by  christian  love  for  his 
departed,  "  rose  early,  went  up  to  the  convent  for  Mass  and  commun- 
ion, but  there  being  no  Mass  there  went  down  to  the  Cathedral  chapel 
for  Mass  and  communion.  At  ten  o'clock  we  took  dear  Anne's  body 
to  the  Cathedral,  where  a  Mass  of  Requiem  was  sung  by  Father  Cloarec 

after  which  we  proceeded  to  the  cemetery  and  placed  the  casket 

by  the  side  of  Henrianna's  and  George's." 

The  following  entry  records  an  act  of  devotion  which  was  repeated 
every  Saturday  for  about  four  months,  that  is,  as  long  as  the  family 
continued  to  live  together  in  New  York  :  "  At  5.40  the  hour  at  which 
dear  Anne  died,  a  fortnight  since,  we  gathered  around  her  bed,  and 
recited  together  the  beads  for  the  repose  of  her  sduI."  On  the  day  of 
the  month-mind  he  had  Mass  offered  for  the  dear  departed,  and  six 
of  the  children  received  communion  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  their 
mother.  It  is  needless  to  remark  that  the  children  of  Mr.  Hoyt  shared 
in  his  sentiments  of  deep  affection  and  respect  towards  their  mother. 
The  following  incident  will  be  read  with  interest.  Mrs.  Hoyt  was 
remarkable  by  her  industry.  On  the  return  of  the  desolate  family  from 
the  burial  of  their  mother,  Mr.  Hoyt  states  : 

"The  dear  children  have  set  things  in  order  at  the  house,  and 
made  it  as  cheery  as  possible  considering  the  circumstances.  A  fitting 
motto,  "  Let  us  thrive  to  become  like  mother,  "  has  been  placed  in  the 

dining  room  alcove,  over  the  picture  of  the  Sacred  heart,  and  N 

has  afready  placed  an  ahar  Avith  lamp  in  his  room,  '  to  my  mother.'  " 


BEV.    WILLIAM  II.    IIOYT.  13b> 

On  Saturdny,  May  1st,  four  montlis  after  the  death  of  IVIrs.  Hoyt, 
"the  family  said  the  beads  together,  around  dear  Anne's  bed,  for  the 
last  time." 

One  week  after,  they  closed  the  house  where  they  had  lived  three 
3'ears,  and  took  a  sad  parting  of  the  place  where  the  much  beloved  wife 
and  mother  breathed  her  last.  Mr  Hoyt  was  at  this  time  cashier  of  the 
Southern  railroad.  When  going  or  coming  from  his  office  he  would 
sometimes  go  out  of  his  way  to  look  at  the  house  in  which  his  wife  had 
died,  in  the  meantime  praying  for  the  repose  of  her  soul,  or  he  would 
step  into  a  church  and  make  the  way  of  the  cross  for  the  same  in- 
tention. 

The  time  which  elapsed  between  the  death  of  Mrs.  Hoyt,  and  his 
entrance  at  the  seminary  of  Seton  Hall  was  for  our  venerable  friend 
a  time  of  great  trial.  Though  he  occasionally  saw  some  of  his  chil- 
dren, the  family  were  not  living  together his  health  was  poor,  and 

he  felt  all  the  discomfort  of  living  among::t  strangers.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever in  the  midst  of  his  troubles,  forget  the  soul  of  his  departed  wife, 
nor  the  care  of  his  family.  He  knew  that  prayer  was  the  means  of 
obtaining  grace,  and  we  find  in  one  of  his  entries  January  7th,  1879  : 
"  At  Mass  and  communion  at  8  at  St.  Charles',  offered  for  the  intention 
of  a  novena  begun  to-day,  in  which  I  have  requested  all  the  dear  chil- 
dren to  join  with  me,  in  preparation  for  the  15th  inst.,  the  second 
anniversary  of  dear  Anne's  death.  1st.  For  the  repose  of  her  soul. 
2d.  For  the  final  perseverance  of  all  and  each  of  the  members  of  the 
family  ;  and  3d,  that  no  one  of  us  may  by  misdeed,  scandal  or  grave  sin 
bring  disgrace  upon  it.  " 

From  a  letter  to  one  of  his  daughters  in  Burlington  :  "I  am  glad 
when  you  tell  me  all  about  matters  and  things,  as  also  about  the  dear 
cemetery  where  our  loved  ones  rest,  or  rather  their  dust,  their  sacred 
dust.  Thej^  themselves,  I  feel  new  almost  sure,  are  in  the  light  and 
joys  and  peace  of  heaven,  and  so  in  the  beatific  vision,  are  with  us  also 
and  see  us,  and  care  for  us  and  commune  with  us.  Dear  consoling 
thought  that  they  do  so  !  Your  darling  mother  is  mine  still,  and  I  am 
hers.  My  hand,  my  heart,  my  abiding  love  and  fidelity.  I  cannot 
bear  the  thought  that  any  like  love  should  come  between  me  and  her. 
Death,  so  far  from  separating  us  in  this  respect  has  only  knit  my  heart 
more  closely,  more  tenderly  to  her  than  ever.  I  shall  yet  see  her  again 
and  be  joined  with  her  ;  and  the  dear  family  all  at  last  grouped  around 
us.  Our  home  will  then  be  found  in  the  place  our  Divine  Lord  said 
He  went  to  prepare  for  us,  a  home  that  never  again  shall  be  broken  up, 
or  its  members  dispersed  and  scattered.  This  is  my  hope  in  Christ  our 
loving  and  beloved  Lord,  and  we  will  each  and  all  of  us  strive,  will 
we  not,  dear  J  .  .   ,  for  its  happy  fulfilment." 


140  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

May  4th,  1876.     To  his  daughter  J "  Some  weeks  hence 

and  the  Seminary  will  close  for  the  year.  I  long  to  go  north  and  sec 
Burlington  once  more  in  its  summer  attire,  which  I  have  not  seen  since 
six  years  ago.  The  dear  cemetery,  too,  I  long  to  visit  when  it  will 
he  clothed  in  its  sununer  beauties,  more  titting  to  the  memories  of  our 
dear  ones  dead,  than  the  snow  and  cold  wintry  winds  which  have  pre- 
vailed there  during  all  my  visits." 

Mr.  Hoyt,  however,  was  out  of  place  in  the  world.  God  demanded 
something  more  of  him,  and  the  time  had  come  that  he  should  conse- 
crate himself  entirely  to  the  service  of  his  Creator, 

Of  that  long,  sad  night  which  he  spent  on  the  cars,  taking  for 
burial  to  Burlington,  the  corpse  of  his  wife,  he  wrote  January  19th, 
1875  :  "  Had  during  the  night  past  in  the  cars,  while  lying  awake, 
some  sudden  suggestions,  as  if  from  dear  Anne  herself,  like  inspiration, 
respecting  my  future  vocation,  for  the  remainder  of  my  da5"s.  "  The 
thought  of  consecrating  himself  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  priesthood 
had  impressed  him  ;  and  a  feic  Iwurs  only  after  the  burial  of  his  wife 
he  went  to  the  Bishop  of  Burlington  and  consulted  him  on  the  subject.- 
He  consulted  several  other  bishops  and  priests,  and  all  encouraged  him 
to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  Mr,  Hoyt  was  about  62  years  at  this  time, 
and  this  seemed  to  be  rather  late,  for  some  time  must  yet  be  spent  in  re- 
tirement and  study  before  being  called  to  receive  ordination.  On  the 
other  hand  he  knew  Latin  quite  well,  had  made  a  particular  study, 
before  his  conversion,  of  the  Missale,  Breviary  and  Ritual,  as  also  of  the 
music  of  the  Church.  In  matters  of  dogma  he  had  very  little  to  learn, 
and  had  already  given  proofs  of  his  zeal,  and  ability  to  teach  ;  when 
being  in  St,  Albans,  he  to  some  extent  supplied  the  parts  of  a  priest, 
before  one  was  sent  thither.  He  now  re-studied  his  Latin,  and  after 
returning  from  his  ofBcc,  would  take  up  books  of  moral  theology. 

Reverend  Father  Hoyt  began  his  seminary  life  at  Seton  Hall  on 
January  19th,  1876,  He  received  tonsure  and  minor  orders  at  the  hands 
of  Cardinal  McCloskey  in  his  own  private  chapel  (April  11th,  1877). 
On  the  day  following,  "At  7.30,  the  Cardinal  said  the  Mass  of  the 
ordination.  Fathers  Farley  and  Salt  assisting,  at  which  I  received  sub- 
deacon's  orders  and  communicated,  to  my  r/rcat  gratification." 

A  little  over  a  month  from  this  date  our  venerable  seminarian 
received  deaconship  at  Seton  Hall  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Corrigan, 
and  five  days  after  he  enters  in  his  diary  : 

"  May  26th,  1877.  Memorable  day  for  me  .  But  of  my  ordination 
to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  Corrigan. ..  .My  dear  children  were  all 
present,  also  Dr.  Purroy  . .  and  so  ends  the  day,  Deo  gratias  for  its 
blessings  and  favors." 

Those  acquainted  with  the  discipline  of  the  church  regarding  the 


REV.     WILLIAM  IL    IIOYT.  141 

ordination  of  its  ministers  cannot  but  have  noticed  that  Mr.  lloyt 
received  all  the  orders  within  an  unnsually  short  space  of  time  ;  but  he 
was  worthy,  he  was  prepared,  and  all  knew  it. 

Of  the  seminary  life  of  Father  IToyt,  Reverend  Father  Salt  of 
Seton  Hall  writes  as  follows  : 

"  Our  dear  friend.  Father  Hoyt,  entered  the  seminary  here  on  the 
19th  of  January,  1876. 

"  He  resided  in  the  seminary  and  attended  the  classes  and  exercises 
the  same  as  other  seminarians.  His  life  here  w^as  one  of  humble  obedi- 
ence and  patient  study.  His  humility  w\as  very  great,  greater  than  is 
ordinarily  seen  except  among  fervent  religious. 

"  He  had  but  one  desire — that  his  remaining  years  might  be  spent 
at  the  altar  and  in  the  confessional — that  our  Lord  might  gain  some 
souls  through  his  ministr3^ 

"  He  was  ordained  priest  on  26th  May,  1877,  in  the  college  chapel. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  his  bright  and  happy  look  after  his  ordina- 
tion, a  little  awed  by  the  dignity  he  had  received,  but  it  was  the  awe 
of  an  innocent  soul  permitted  to  approach  nearer  to  our  Lord. 

"You  will  easily  understand  that  in  a  humble  life  like  his  there 
is  little  to  say  except  that  he  studied,  he  prayed  and  passed  the  exam- 
inations like  his  fellow^  students  of  younger  age  and  'that  he  found  the 
strength  and  fervor  to  do  all  so  well  in  Holy  Communion,  for  he  received 
holy  communion  very  frequently.  '  " 

On  the  evening  of  the  memorable  day  of  his  ordination  Rev.  W. 
H.  Hoyt  went  with  Father  Quinn,  Y.  G.,  to  the  Cardinal's  residence, 
and  called  on  him.  From  whom  he  had  a  kind  reception,  and  who 
gave  him  verbally  his  faculties .  He  was  assigned  to  duty  at  St.  Mich- 
ael's Church,  West  32d  street  and  0th  avenue,  to  assist  the  Rev.  Father 
Arthur  J.  Donnelly. 

We  will  end  this  imperfect  sketch  of  the  life  of  our  very  dear  friend 
by  letting  Monsignor  Preston  relate  how  he  lived  in  New  York  as  a 
priest  and  how  he  died  at  the  altar  of  the  sacrifice,  after  sacrificing 
all  himself  in  his  life  for  the  love  of  his  Crucified  Redeemer. 

' '  No  man  ever  felt  more  what  it  was  to  be  a  priest  after  the  order 
of  Melchisedec,  no  man  ever  felt  more  what  it  was  to  have  the  privilege 
of  offering  the  divine  sacrifice,  to  be  consecrated  to  God  in  heart,  in 
thought,  in  word,  and  in  action. 

"  So,  little  more  than  six  years  passed  away.  The  early  days  of 
his  priesthood  w^re  passed  as  assistant  in  St.  Michael's  Church,  and 
there  is  only  one  opinion  expressed  by  all  connected  with  him.  He 
won  upon  them  continually  by  his  patience,  his  gentleness,  his  devotion, 
his  great  humility,  for,  though  he  had  before  occupied  so  honorable  a 


142  CATHOLIC    MEMOIBS. 

position,  never  was  there  the  slightest  sign  of  self -consciousness  ;  and 
he  was  only  anxious  to  spend  what  strength  he  had  for  God — only 
anxious  to  give  to  God  in  his  declining  years  all  the  faculties  he  pos- 
sessed. 

"  For  a  brief  period  he  had  charge,  during  the  absence  of  the 
pastor,  of  the  parish  of  Irvington  and  ministered  to  its  wants.  In  the 
interval,  for  a  short  time  he  was  at  the  church  of  the  Nativity,  and  for 
the  last  two  years  he  was  with  us,  ministering  with  zeal  to  the  sick  and 
the  poor  and  the  ignorant,  ever  ready  to  lessen  my  cares,  prompt  to 
perform  the  slightest  duty,  never,— though  feeble — never,  so  far  as  I 
can  remember,  failing  in  a  single  appointment  or  in  one  dut}^  He  has 
left  a  blessed  record.  I  know  the  children  of  St.  Anne's  love  him.  I 
know  all  of  you  love  him,  and  his  will  be  a  name  dear  in  the  history  of 
this  parish  ;  and  I  thank  God  there  has  been  one  w^hose  life  will  be 
always  a  blessed  memory  to  lead  us  in  the  path  of  virtue  and  grace. 
Then  think  how  God  has  been  pleased  to  end  his  life.  During  the  past 
month  he  w^as  as  well  as  usual.  At  his  own  desire,  he  sang  the  Mass 
on  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  ;  and  during  that  Mass, 
you  who  were  present  were  witness  how  strong  he  w^as,  and  even  with 
what  extraordinary  vigor  he  sang  only  a  few  moments  before  the  stroke 
of  death  seized  him.  He  gave  himself  his  own  viaticum,  opened  the 
tabernacle,  said  the  misereatur  and  the  indulgentiam.  These  were  the 
last  words  he  ever  spoke,  his  hands  fell,  he  turned  with  his  last  strength 
to  the  altar,  and  gently  fell  before  it.  I  do  not  know  in  all  my  experi- 
ence a  more  beautiful  ending  to  a  beautiful  life  than  this  !  ,  That  his 
last  act  of  devotion  to  his  Lord,  and  when  the  stroke  of  death  came, 
he  was  bearing  the  body  of  his  Lord,  and  the  Master  was  on  his  tongue 
and  in  his  heart  !     I  do  not  know  a  more  happy  death  than  this. 

"  We  took  from  him  his  sacred  vestments,  we  bore  him  to  his  bed, 
and  from  that  moment  till  yesterday,  when  he  died,  there  was  not  the 
slightest  consciousness.  Around  him  w^ere  continual  prayers  ;  Masses 
were  offered  for  him  ;  his  own  family  were  by  him  ;  there  was  the 
sacred  annointing  ;  and  so,  fortified  by  all  the  sacraments,  he  went 
home  to  give  an  account  of  all  his  stewardship.  For  w^e  may  call  it 
home  when  we  go  to  God.  He  is  our  Father  and  Redeemer.  And  so, 
with  the  gentleness  of  a  child,  he  went  home  to  sleep  on  his  Redeemer's 

breast. 

"  I  need  not  ask  you  to  pray  for  him.  I  know  you  will  pray.  AVe 
know  not  how  infinitely  pure  Almighty  God  is.  We  know  not— we  ' 
never  can  know,  wiiat  is  the  responsibility  of  the  divine  priesthood.  We 
know  if  God  were  strict  to  mark  wdiat  is  done  amiss,  we  could  not 
abide  it.  We  know^  the  angels  are  not  pure  in  his  sight,  and  faith  bids 
us  continually  to  pray  for  the  departed,  and  offer  up  the  holy  sacri- 


BEV.     WILLIAM  11.    110  YT.  143 

ficc  of  the  altar  to  give  them  rest  aud  hasten  their  entrance  into  tlie 
joys  of  their  Lord.  But,  at  tlje  same  time  that  we  pray,  the  lii^hts  of 
faith,  the  lights  of  love,  the  lights  of  hope,  are  burning  around  this 
sacred  bier,  aud,  if  it  be  a  dreadful  responsibility  to  be  a  priest,  yet  the 
rewards  of  a  good  priest  arc  great,  thanks  to  infinite  mercy  of  the 
Lord. 

"  And  so  we  look  forward  to  his  reward,  and  we  know  he  will  be 
with  the  Lord  he  loved  and  served,  that  he  will  see  in  vision  what  he 
saw  by  faith,  and  that  he  will  be  our  intercessor  to  pray  for  us  and  for 
this  parish,  that  God  will  strengthen  us,  so  that,  when  our  time  shall 
come,  we  may  be  ready,  as  he  was,  to  go  into  the  presence  of  his 
Judge. 

"  So  we  will  bear  his  remains  to  the  home  of  his  early  youth,  where 
he  will  rest.  Among  his  own  people  we  will  lay  him  to  sleep.  There 
he  will  rest  till  the  trumpet  shall  sound  and  the  dead  shall  rise.  Then 
this  mortal  shall  put  on  immortality,  this  corruptible  shall  put  on 
incorruption,  and  we  shall  rise  in  the  likeness  of  our  Lord  and 
Redeemer.  AVith  these  hopes,  with  this  certainty  of  divine  faith,  may 
we  not  say,  in  the  exulting  language  of  St,  Paul, 

"  O  Death,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
"  O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
"  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  has  given  us  the  victory,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord." 


144  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 


MISTRESS  ANNA  HOYT 


(XEE     DEMING). 


Mrs.  Anna  Hoyt,  the  much  beloved  wife  of  William  H.  liovt,  was 
a  person  in  every  respect  worthy  of  our  virtuous  and  venerable  friend. 

From  the  follovNing;  letter  to  her  sister,  Mrs.  Maria  Tucker,  writ- 
ten some  time  before  the  conversion  of  her  husband,  the  reader  will 
judge  of  the  generosity  of  her  character  when  there  was  question  of  the 
honor  of  God  and  the  interest  of  her  own  soul : 

"  With  regard  to  the  question  you  ask  about  my  dear  husband,  I  be- 
lieve I  do  right  to  say  that  he  does  not  leave  the  ministry  for  the  purpose 
you  seem  to  suppose.  He  leaves  rather  for  this  reason,  that  he  is  un- 
willing to  remain  a  teacher  and  a  guide  while  his  own  mind  is  so  un- 
settled ;  in  other  words,  he  cannot  teach  that  in  which  he  has  not  un- 
doubting  faith.  His  many  and  pressing  parochial  duties  have  left  him 
but  little  time  for  the  consideration  of  those  subjects  of  doubt,  and  he 
now  wishes  to  resign,  that  he  may  take  that  time  to  study,  that  he  feels 
the  importance  of  the  subject  demands.  And  though  I  look  forward 
to  what  will  be  the  probable  consequence  of  this  course,  I  believe  at 
present  his  mind  is  undecided.  Having  said  this  much  with  regard  to 
Henry,  I  come  now  to  speak  of  myself  of  whom  I  speak  more  de- 
cidedly. 

Let  me  then  say  plainly  and  without  hesitation,  that  it  is  my  inten- 
tion next  summer,  God  willing,  to  become  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  nor  should  I  delay  even  that  length  of  time,  but  for  certain 
circumstances  which  you  will  readily  understand,  will  prevent  my 
leaving  home  this  winter  as  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  do  when  I  take 
the  steps.  My  time  not  being  occupied  as  my  dear  husband's  has  been, 
I  have  had  time  for  much  thought,  and  some  reading  according  to  my 
capacity,  which  has  enabled  me  to  come  to  a  conclusion  sooner  than 
he.  Need  I  say,  my  dearest  Maria,  that  this  determination  is  not  made 
without  consideration  and  many  prayers  and  many  tears.  To  endeavor 
to  give  you  all  my  reasons  would  be  in  vain,  for  in  the  first  place,  they 
are'^too  numerous  for  a  letter,  and  besides  with  your  present  views  it 
would  be  useless.      Suffice  it  to  say  that  two  or  three  years  since  the 


MISTBESS    ANNA    IIOYT.  145 

qiicslion  of  authority  first  commenced  disturbino- my  mind,  a  queslion 
by  the  way  which  I  know  has  oflen  agitated  your  mind,  my  dear 
Maria.  I  have  slriiggled  against  it,  and  while  investigating  the  sub- 
ject, have  tried  to  view  it  favorably  with  reference  to  the  Episcopal 
church.  Although  I  resolved  at  the  first,  that  feeling  and  affection 
should  not  govern  me,  still  I  have  found  it  very  hard  to  act  up  to  this. 
With  all  the  strong  prejudices  against  the  Catholic  Church,  ^vith  which 
as  a  Protestant,  I  have  been  brought  up,  and  with  a  strong  and  devoted 
attachment  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  which  I  was  baptized,  con- 
firmed and  received  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  in  which 

was  all  my  delightful  associations you  may  easily  believe  me 

when  I  say,  I  have  found  it  hard  to  determine  to  leave  her  communion. 
And  even  now,  I  should  rejoice,  could  I  feel  persuaded  that  I  was  doing 
my  duty  to  remain  where  I  cm.      Eut  I  have  earnestly  prayed  that  God 
would  enlighten  my  understanding  and  teach  me  my  duty,  and  then 
enable  me  to  do  it,  without  reference  to  my  own  intentions,  whatever 
sacrifice  it  might  require.    And  I  can  only  attribute  it  to  His  grace  and 
mercy  that  I  am  able  to  look  calmly  and  resolutely  at  what  used  to 
give  me  great  pain  and  almost  disgust.    I  know^  that  this  will  give  you 
and  dear  mother  great  pain,  and  that  those  whose  love  and  respect  I 
have  so  highly  prized,  will  hereafter  look  at  me  with  different  feelings. 
I  dread,  I  shrink  from  grieving  you  and  my  dear  mother,  and  I  some- 
times almost  fear  that  I  shall  offend  her.    But  all  those  things  may  not 
move  me.      I  dare  not  peril  my  soul  for  the  dearest  earthly  considera- 
tion, nor  would  you  have  me.     I  dare  not  stay  where  I  am,  and  I  long 
to  take  a  step  which  will  put  my  mind  more  at  rest.    I  have  little  more 
to  say,  save  that  I  hope  you  will  ever  love  me,  as  you  have  done,  and 
that  the  delightful  intercourse  and  feelings  which  have  ever  existed 
between  us  will  not  be  disturbed  by  this  event.      I  v/ould  suggest  that 
we  do  not  converse  about  it.      I  am  ready  to  hear  whatever  3X)u  may, 
any  of  you,  have  to  say  on  the  subject.  Eut  I  think  at  present  it  would 
only  excite  us  both  unnecessarily  to  talk  about  it,  and  therefore  it 
would  be  best  to  wuite  about  it.     It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  God  will 
enable  us  all  to  know  and  to  do  our  duty,  and  after  this  life  we  may 

be  permitted  to  dwell  together  with  Him  in  liis  mansions  of  glory 

...  God  bless  you,  my  dear,  dear  sister. 

Ever  your  fond  and  faithful  sister,  ANNE. 

(Written  in  December,  1845). 
Mistress  Hoyt's  works  of  charity  are  well  remembered  in  St.  Albans, 
Burlington,  and  particularly  in  New  York.     W^e  could  produce  many 
letters  like  the  following  : 

10 


146  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS^. 

"M.r.s.  Hoyt  ^vtis  for  four  or  live  ycar.M"»r(-"^'ious  to  her  death  a 
most  devoted  Avorker  in  behalf  of  the  little  foundlings— weekly  she 
spent  an  almost  entire  day  at  the  Asylum  making  thousands  of  gar- 
ments for  the  little  ones.  They  benefitted  also  by  her  leisure  moments 
at  hom'j.  her  lingers  working  quicklv  in  their  b?half,  although  never 
permitting  charity  to  interfere  with  h?r  household  duties  3Irs.  Hoyt 
being  always  a  great  sufferer  her  labor  was  all  the  more  commendable. 
To  US3  her  own  expression,  she  seemed  to  share  in  our  dear  Lord's 
crown  of  thorns.  With  all  this  suffering  Mrs.  Hoyt  continued  faith- 
ful to  her  labors  until  within  one  week  of  her  death."  (From  Sister 
Irene,  New  York), 

Her  dust,  her  sacred  dust,  r.s  the  Rev.  Father  Hoyt  named  it,  lies 
near  the  earthly  remains  of  her  mother  and  two  of  her  children.  Tlie 
body  of  her  venerable  husband  was  deposited  in  a  grave  adjoining  her 
own.  They  both  loved  St.  Joseph,  and  had  taken  him  for  their  chosen 
and  life-long  patron. 


sr.     JOSEPH'S    II [LL.  UT 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  HILL 


"  An  Indian  legend  relates  that  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  a  Missionary  Priest  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  accompanied 
by  some  Indians  in  two  bark  canoes,  landed  on  an  island,  which  some 
time  after  was  named  Isle  La  Mottc.  The  object  of  his  journey  was  to 
visit  scattered  bands  of  hunters  who  were  encamped  along  the  eastern 
shore  of  Lake  Champlain  and  its  vicinity,  at  dillerent  points  in  the  val- 
ley of  said  lake.  From  Isle  La  Motte  they  steered  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Missisquoi  river,  which  they  navigated  up  to  the  first  falls,  where  the 
village  of  Swanton  now  stands.  From  that  place  they  proceeded  on 
foot  for  some  miles  to  the  base  of  a  line  of  hills,  thought  to  be  those  east 
of  St.  Albans.  The  next  place  they  reached  was  an  Indian  camp  on 
the  bank  of  a  river  discovered  by  Champlain,  and  named  by  him  tlie 
Lamoille.  After  some  days  the  Indians  of  that  place  accompanied  the 
party  in  canoes  to  the  lake  and  along  its  shores  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Winooski  river,  which  they  ascended  as  far  as  the  first  falls.  Here  they 
remained  many  days,  during  which  time  the  Missionary  visited  the  pre- 
sent site  of  Burlington,  and  held  two  missions  there — one  at  a  camp  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Winooski  as  it  ap- 
proaches the  lake  ;  and  one  near  the  lake  shore.  On  their  way  back  to 
Swanton,  where  they  had  left  their  own  canoes,  they  lingered  for  some 
days  on  Grand  Isle." — [Traces  of  an  Lulian  legend,  in  the  Catholic  World. 

To  a  Catholic  of  Vermont  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  holy 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  was  offered  so  long  ago  on  so  many  points  of  the 
State,  and  that  at  this  present  time  there  is  a  church  standing  near  the 
spot,  and  it  may  be  on  the  very  place,  which  was  sanctified  by  the 
offering  of  the  holy  sacrifice,  at  the  hands  of  one  of  the  saintly  disciples 
of  St.  Francis. 

From  the  preceding  legend  it  appears  that  two  Indian  camps,  or 
settlements,  existed  then  in  Burlington,  on  the  hill  which  forms  the 
western  bank  of  the  Winooski,  aud  this  hill  we  are  pleased  to  name 
the  Hill  of  St.  Joseph. 

Was  it  somewhere  about  this  spot  that  Fanny  Allen  was  favored 
with  an  apparition  of  St,  Joseph  ?  It  may  be  so,  for  she  lived  about 
two  years  in  Burlington,  in  the  farm  house  of  her  father,  Ethan  Allen  j 


148  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

and  this  house,  quite  isolated  now,  as  it  was  then,  is  situated  near  the 
Winooski,  which  here,  frequently  overflows  its  banks.  Be  that  as  it 
will,  it  is  certainly  in  this  State  that  the  fact  related  occurred  ;  and  my 
readers  will  now  understand  thru  it  was  quite  appropriate  to  have  a 
group  representing  the  Holy  Family  placed  over  one  of  the  altars  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Burlington.  Our  good  Sister  Allen  of  the  Convent  of  the 
Hotel  Dieu  of  St.  Joseph,  did  certainly  enter  that  religious  house  through 
the  intervention  of  St.  Joseph,  and  ice  therefore  should  remember  the 
mercies  extended  to  her,  and  prepare  to  obtain  also  the  proteclion  of 
Holy  Joseph  for  ourselves. 

We  love,  moreover,  to  record  that  St.  Joseph  has  not  been  forgotten 
in  Burlington.  When  in  the  year  1852  Rev.  Joseph  Quevillon  started 
on  our  hill  the  building  of  a  church  for  the  Canadians  of  Winooski  and 
Burlington,  he  placed  his  people  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Joseph, 
and  gave  to  the  edifice  the  name  of  the  Church  of  St.  JosepJt. 

When  a  fev/  years  later,  in  1854,  the  Sisters  of  Providence  came  to 
Burlington  from  Montreal  to  take  charge  of  our  orphans,  they  named 
the  house  the  St  Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum,  and  we  can  testify  that  in 
this  humble  building  his  protection  was  constantly  invoked  for  the  space 
of  thirty  years.  The  little  orphans  who,  daily  answering  the  Litany  of 
St.  Joseph  by  saying,  pray  for  us,  (and  sometimes  ;;«?/  for  us)  never 
were  in  want  of  their  daily  bread,  though  they  were  very  numerous, 
and  had  no  resources  but  the  alms  of  our  Catholics. 

If  you  go  back  from  the  old  Orphan  Asylum,  towards  old  St.  Jo- 
seph's Chiu-ch,  you  will  notice  a  very  tine  statue  of  St.  Joseph  placed 
high  under  a  cupola  over  the  school  house  of  the  French  Church  ;  for 
here  in  Vermont  as  well  as  in  Galilee  it  is  well  that  the  young  be  pro- 
tected by  St.  Joseph.  During  the  month  of  March  you  will  hear  fer- 
vent prayers  offered  to  St  Joseph  by  the  children  on  this  hill,  in  the 
school  rooms  ;  and  in  the  Church  by  the  whole  congregation.  Here, 
also,  you  will  see  banners,  s::atues,  societies  of  St.  Joseph.  St.  Joseph 
is  the  patron  of  the  dying,  and  here  on  the  hill  of  St.  Joseph  we  have 
him  watching  over  the  dead  also  ;  for  we  have  the  Cemetery  of  Mount 
St.  Joseph  for  the  Cathedral,  and  the  Cemetery  of  St.  Joseph  for  the  French 
C<inMdian  congregations. 

Now  if  you  look  from  the  hill  towards  the  lake,  you  will  notice  in 
the  distance  the  new  Orphan  Asjdum,  and  if  you  chance  to  pass  near 
by  this  orphanage  you  will  read,  in  conspicuous  letters,  over  the  door, 
the  dear  name  of  our  holy  Patriarch,  St.  Joseph.  But  as  we  write  these 
lines  the  congregation  of  old  St.  Joseph's  Church  are  erecting  a  new 
St.  JosepKs  Church  edifer,  which  can  not  but  be  seen  by  any  one  who 
approaches  Burlington,  be  it  from  the  west,  by  water,  or  from  the  south 
and  cast,  by  land.     The  great  dimensions  of  this  building,  and  the  pri- 


.Sr.     JOSEPH'S    HILL.  149 

valions  which  the  people  cheerfully  underiro  to  complete  it,  show  to 
evidence  how  sincerely  devoted  all  our  people  are  to  St.  Joseph.  On 
the  Hill  of  St.  Joseph  devotion  is  not  conlined  to  exterior  mai-ks  of  ven- 
eration ;  devotion  here  exists  in  the  heart,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  remem- 
ber how  many  young  persons  there  are,  who  have  left  the  Hill  of  St. 
Joseph  to  consecrate  themselves  to  God  in  religious  houses;  some  of  them 
being  now  far  awa.y  from  home  and  country. 

In  the  cemetery  of  Mount  St.  Joseph  are  buried  the  remains  of  our 
venerable  Rev.  William  II.  Hoyt,  close  to  the  remains  of  his  wife  and 
of  two  of  their  children.  Adjoining  these  graves  are  those  of  Captain  N. 
Tucker,  Mrs.  Deming,  Gen.  De  Witt  Clarke  and  wife,  Mrs.  LydiaMeech 
and  Gustavus  Austin  and  wife.  By  his  examples  and  words  Rev. 
Father  Hoyt  had  more  or  less  directly  contributed  to  the  conversion  of 
those  dear  dead,  as  he  named  them. 

Of  this  spot  it  was  that  he  wrote  to  his  daughter  :  "I  lono-  to  o-o 
north  and  see  Burlington  once  more  in  its  summer  attire,  which  I  have 
not  seen  since  six  years  ago.  The  dear  Cemetery,  too,  I  long  to  visit 
when  it  will  be  clothed  with  its  summer  beauties,  more  fitting  to  the 
memory  of  our  dear  ones  dead,  than  the  snow  and  cold  wintry  winds 
which  have  prevailed  there  during  all  my  visits." 

The  two  cemeteries  on  the  hill  of  St.  Joseph  are  as  dear  to  thou- 
sands of  our  Catholics  as  they  were  to  Father  Hoyt,  for  there  lieth  the 
dust,  the  sacred  dust,  of  thousands  who  were  dear  to  us,  and  whom 
God  has  glorified  because  they  loved  and  served  Him  on  earth. 

But  of  all  the  spots  on  the  hill  of  St.  Joseph  there  is  not  one  which 
excites  so  much  interest  as  the  new  College  of  St.  Joseph.  God  grant 
that  it  may  continue  and  prosper,  and  that  all  those  who  will  be  educa- 
ted there  may  be  like  St.  Joseph,  just  in  the  presence  of  God  and  filled 
with  a  spirit  of  Apostolic  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  his  Kingdom  on 
earth  ! 


150  CATHOLIC    MEMOiRS. 


CON  CLUSION. 


Two  thoughts  have  continually  recurrc  1  to  our  mind  whilst  wTitino; 
our  Catholic  Memoirs.      The  lives  of  Rev.  Father  Hoyt,  Fanny  Allen, 
the  Rev.  Fathers  Barb-r,  and  especially  that  of  Sister  Mary  Augustm, 
remind  us  of  the  lives  of  the  early  martyrs.     In  the  early  days  of  Chris- 
tianity to  renounce  the  worship  of  idols  and  to  become  a  disciple  of 
Christ  w\as  to  expose  oneself  to  certain  death  ;  but  those  courageous 
men  and  women  knew  that  Jesus  Christ  is  God,  that  He  established 
only  one  Church,  and  that  they  were  obliged  to  enter  it  under  risk  of 
losing  their  immortal  soul.      Now,  the  religion  established  by  the  Son 
of  God  is  the  same  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  days  cf  the  early  christians, 
and  men  are  as  much  bound  to  embrace  it  now  as  they  were  who  lived 
In  the  days  of  the  Apostles.     Oh  how  sad  it  is  to  see  so  many  men  who 
voluntarily  blind  themselves,  will  not  open  their  eyes  to  see  the  truth, 
or  will  make  no  effort  to  tind  it  ! 

And  amongst  Catholics  how  many  there  are  who  resist  God's  grace 
calling  them  to'a  more  perfect  life  !  Let  these  recall  to  mind  the  ex- 
amplel  of  the  admirable  men  and  women  whose  lives  w^e  have  sketched  . 
Oh,  wdiat  great  things  these  did  do  to  please  God,  and  how  little  it  is 
that  we  do  !  and  yet  their  Gcd  is  our  God,  their  crucified  Saviour  i.s 
our  crucified  Saviour  I 

There  nrj  outside  of  the  Catholic  Church  sincere  persons  who  de- 
sire to  be  more  intimately  united  to  God  on  earth  than  they  are,  in  fol- 
lowing the  doctrines  and  practice;3  of  protestant  churches.     They  have 
read  in  the  gospel  the  svreet  invitation  of  their  God,  "Come  to  me 
all  ye  who  suffer  ....  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans."     That  presence, 
ihat  fruition  of  Jesus  Chri^:  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  holy  sacrament 
of  the  Catholic  Church.     Here  only  is  the  manna  of  the  traveller  in  the 
desert  ;  here  only  is  the  bread  of  life,  the  bread  which,  if  we  eat,  w^e 
shall  abide  with  Christ,  and  Christ  in  us— (John  vi.)     We  know  of  a 
chapel  in  whieli  there  was  lately  a  protestant  minister  on  his  knees 
whilst  the  priest  was  giviug  communion  to  some  Catholics.      He  said 
some  time  after  to  a  clergyman,  "  I  wanted  to  go  and  receive  with  them. 
Would  they  have  given  it  to  me  ?"     The  priest  might  have  answered 
liini— "  This  is  exclusively  the  bread  of  children  :  believe  and  be  bap- 
tized, i^roxe  yourself  by  going  to  confession,  and  then  you  shall  be  en- 
titled to  come  and  receive  the  bread  of  life  " 


C  0  N  G L  URIO  N.  151 

As  soon  as  Fanny  Allen,  Viri,nl  Barber,  and  his  wife,  had  known 
the  gift  of  God,  and  received  communion,  they  began  to  aspire  to  a  per- 
fect life,  and  forsook  every  thing  in  order  to  lead  a  life  of  purity,  pov- 
erty and  obedience.  It  was  in  daily  receiving  communion  that  Father 
Hoyt,  during  the  life  of  his  wife,  found  grace  to  fulfil  every  duty  of 
his  state.  To  holy  communion  he  had  recourse  in  days  of  joy  and  days 
of  affliction,  as  a  means  also  to  obtain  grace  for  the  living  and  eternal 
rest  for  the  souls  of  the  departed,  and  in  his  old  age  he  found  strength 
in  the  Holy  Eucharist  to  persevere  in  the  severe  life  of  a  student, 
amongst  young  seminarians,  resolved  also  to  spend  the  balance  of  his 
days  in  preparing  souls  for  communion  in  the  confessional,  and  spend- 
ing his  days  and  parts  of  his  nights  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  The  sacred 
altars  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  the  only  places  where  the  w^eary  soul 
can  fmd  its  rest. 

"How  lovely  are  thy  tabernacles  O  Lord  of  hosts  !  My  soul  long- 
eth  and  faintcth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  My  heart  and  my  flesh 
have  rejoiced  in  the  living  God  !  For  the  sparrow  hath  found  herself 
a  house,  and  the  turtle  a  nest  for  herself  where  she  may  lay  her  young 
ones.     Thy  altars,  O  Lord  of  hosts.     My  King  and  my  God."  (Ps.  83.) 

God  grant  that  all  Catholics,  by  their  love  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
may  bring  within  the  fold  many  of  the  sheep  which  are  not  of  the  flock 
of  Jesus  Christ.  May  all  men  so  venerate  on  earth  the  mysteries  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  as  to  experience  in  heaven  the  glory  of  his 
redemption  ! 


m   .  ■■ 


■-:.^ii:\Mk:>r^. 


CATHEDRAL 


OF    THE 


IMMACULATE     CONCEPTION 

BURLINGTON,    VERMONT. 


15^ 


CATHEDRAL 


OF   THE 


IMMUCULRTE  CONC 


D 


BURLINGTON,     VT 


A    NOTICE     OF    ITS    IKTEEIOE    DECORATIONS. 


For  the  benefit  of  those  who  attend  the  Cathedral  in  Burhngton, 
and  of  those  who  come  to  visit  it,  tlic  following  notices  of  its  interior 
decorations  have  been  written,  with  the  hope  that  they  will  prove  both 
instructive  and  edifying.  Although  these  decorations  are  not  yet  com- 
plete, they  show  that  the  prevailing  idea  has  been  to  make  it  the  House 
of  God  and  the  Oate  of  Heaven,  a  source  of  glory  to  God  and  of  bless- 
ings to  man. 


THE    CEILING. 

When  you  shall  have  entered  the  building  by  the  front  door,  your 
attention  will  at  once  be  drawn  to  the  high  ceiling.  It  is  made  entirely 
of  wood,  worked  up  in  arches  and  arabesques  highly  illuminated.  The 
eHect  is  very  beautif  id,  especially  at  night,  when  the  church  is  lighted 
up.  It  will  remind  you,  dear  reader,  of  God  who  made  the  Heavens 
and  the  earth,  and  has  prepared  for  those  who  love  Him  a  mansion 
more  lovely  than  all  the  tabernacles  of  earth. 

The  corner  stone  of  the  Cathedral  was  blessed  on  September  15th, 
18G3.     The  edifice  was  consecrated  December  8th,  18G7. 


154  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

THE     COLUIMNS. 

These  are  of  Vermont  marble.  It  has  been  thought  right  to  place 
in  the  house  of  God,  as  an  homage  to  his  Majesty,  some  stones  of  those 
precious  deposits  with  which  He  has  enriched  our  State.  The  columns 
were  each  of  them  given  by  the  priest  w^hose  name  is  inscribed  en  it  ; 
and  are,  as  you  perceive,  a  striking  emblem  of  their  own  vocation. 

THE     CHAXCEL. 

The  part  where  the  altar  is  built  is  the  holiest  of  the  building,  cor- 
responding to,  but  being  more  holy  than,  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  old.  It 
is  separated  by  a  railing  from  the  body  of  the  church.  You  should 
not  enter  it. 

The  ceiling  of  the  Chancel  has  been  more  richly  decorated  by  gilt 
stars,  monograms  of  the  holy  names  of  Jesus  and  M;iry,  the  Cross,  the 
Crown,  &c.  According  to  Catholic  usage,  the  great  or  Chancel  Altar 
is  consecrated  to  God  under  the  name  of  the  Patron  Saint  of  the  Church , 
and  every  thing  in  this  part  of  the  Cathedral  relates  to  Mary,  immac- 
ulate in  her  conception,  the  Patroness  of  the  Diocese  of  Burlington. 

Over  the  chancel  Arch  you  have  the  Lily  with  the  Crown  and  Stars, 
symbols  of  her  purity  and  glory  ;  on  the  scroll  to  each  side,  Hail  full  of 
Grace,  (the  ground  of  her  dignhj,)— Blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  icomh  : 
will  remind  you  of  Him  who  died  on  Calvary  and  is  ofiered  on  the 
altars  of  the  church,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down 
thereof. 

FOUR    CHANCEL    STAINED    GLASS    WINDOWS. 

The  first  of  this  scries  is  at  the  left  or  Gospel  side  ;  hence  you  will 
see  it  best  from  the  right,  or  Epistle  side. 

Mary,  as  yet  a  child,  accompanied  by  her  parents  Joachim  and 
Anna,  presents  and  consecrates  herself  to  God  in  His  temple,  at  the 
hands  of  the  High  Priest.     That  consecration  was  early,  entire  and 

perpetual. 

The  second  in  order  is  the  Annunciation,  (see  Luke  1).  You  have 
it  the  first  to  the  right,  Mary  on  her  knees  receiving  the  message  of 
Gabriel  who  was  sent  from  God. 

3Iary,  with  St.  John  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  is  the  third  window 
of  this  scries.  It  was  then  that  the  sword  of  sorrow  pierced  her  heart. 
The  words  of  her  dying  Son  are  written  in  the  g]afi^.—Bc7wld  thy  Son, 
Behold  thy  mother. 

The  fourth  chancel  window^  represents  the  Assumption  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  or  her  being  taken  up  in  body  and  soul  to  heaven  by 
angels. 


(JATIIEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION.    155 

THE    HIGH    ALTAR 

Is  the  most  important  object  in  the  Church,  the  edifice  itself  having 
been  built  to  receive  it.  This  altar  was  consecrated  on  the  8th  day  of 
December,  lb67.  In  the  top  slab  there  have  been  deposited  Relics  of 
the  Apostles,  and  many  martyrs,  virgins  and  confessors.  It  is  made 
also  of  Vermont  marble,  and  is  beautiful  though  in  an  unfinished  state. 
The  Bronze  Medallion  in  front  represents  the  infant  Jesus  in  the  Crib, 
Mary  and  Joseph  adoring,  &c.  The  Tahe'rnade,  with  the  Exposition  on 
the  Altar,  are  much  admired  as  a  work  of  art ;  but  are  much  more  pre- 
cious in  the  eyes  of  Catholics  on  account  of  the  Blessed  Sacn;ment 
which  they  are  destined  to  contain. 

SIDE    ALTAR    TO     THE     LEFT. 

Under  the  Arch,  fronting  the  door  of  the  East  Aisle,  there  is  a 
Mortuary  Altar.  There  Masses  arc  ofCered  for  tht?  repose  of  the  departed, 
for  it  is  a  Holt/  and  wholesome  thought  to  jyray  for  the  dead,  that  they  may 
be  loosed  from  their  sins.  When  you  will  come  here  to  pray  to  God  to 
give  them  eternal  rest,  you  will  no  doubt  notice  the  stained  glass  win- 
dow above  it  in  the  east  wall.     It  represents 

THE    DEATH     OF    ST.     JOSEPH. 

St.  Joseph,  the  spouse  of  Mary,  and  foster  father  of  Jesus  Christ, 
called  a  just  man  in  the  Gospel,  died  at  Nazareth,  in  his  own  small 
house,  sanctilied  by  the  presence  of  the  Son  of  God.  After  a  holy 
though  hidden  life,  he  died  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Angels 
hovering  over  his  bed  hold  the  scroll  on  which  there  is  written  Blessed 
are  they  who  die  in  the  Lord.  The  protection  of  St.  Joseph  is  implored 
in  order  to  obtain  a  happy  death.  In  the  trifoil  part  of  this  window 
you  have  the  Blessed  Virgin  praying  and  obtaining  relief  for  the  suffer- 
ing souls  of  Purgatory.  The  group  of  statues  representing  the  holy 
family,  placed  behind  the  mortuary  altar,  was  placed  there  as  a  memo- 
rial of  the  tableau  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  Fanny 
Allen's  life, 

ALTAR    OF    ST.     ANNE    AND    WINDOW    OF    THE 

LAST     SUPPER. 

The  window  has  no  need  of  being  explained.  Here  you  have 
Christ,  who  having  lored  His  who  were  in  the  world,  loved  them  vnto 
the  end,  and  leaving  tlicm  the  greatest  pledge  of  His  love,  by  the 
changing  the  bread  into  His  body.     You  will  find  ample  food  for 


156  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

meditation  by  examining  the  expressions  of  the  noble  ligurcs  of  Christ, 
and  the  Apostles  ;  the  traitor,  at  the  lower  part  of  the  table,  with  the 
purse  which  contains  his  treasure;  and  also  remark  the  words.  Take  yc 
and  cat,  this  is  my  body. 

The  window  of  the  last  supper  has  been  placed  quite  appropriately 
in  this  part  of  the  chancel,  for  this  is  the  place  of  the  chapel  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  on  Holy  Thursday.  There  is  an  altar  of  marble 
erected  under  that  window  in  honor  of  St,  Anne.  St.  Anne's  name  is 
very  dear  to  Catholics  in  this  part  of  the  world,  where  we  have  experi- 
enced so  often  the  effects  of  her  compassion  and  power.  The  statue  of 
the  good  saint  above  the  altar  is  the  gift  of  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

THE  REREDOS  OF  THE  GREAT  ALTAR. 

It  is  customary  to  have  behind  the  great  altar  a  frame  or  screen 
containing  an  oil  painting  representing  the  patron  saint  of  the  Church, 
or  a  scene  from  his  life.  The  reredos  of  the  Cathedral  is  quite  elaborate 
and  is  in  itself  an  abridgement  of  the  life  of  the  Mother  of  God.  In 
the  lower  part  of  the  frame  which  rises  to  the  ceiling,  we  have  the  four 
emblematiug  figures  on  canvas,  representing  the  purity,  the  faith,  the 
charity,  and  the  humility,  of  the  holy  Virgin.  Three  medallions  above 
these  figures  represent  (also  on  canvas)  the  Annunciation,  the  Corona- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  same  Immaculate  Virgin,  crushing 
the  heads  of  the  serpent.     (Genes.  III). 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  reredos  we  see  in  a  richly  ornamenled 
niche  a  statue  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  of  exquisite  workmanship. 
In  order  that  you  may  well  understand  the  beautiful  idea  of  the  artist, 
recall  to  mind  the  admirable  prayer  which  we  love  to  recite.  It  begins 
with  the  words.  Hail  I  holy  queen,  mother  of  mercy,  our  life,  our  siceet- 
ncss  and  our  hope.  Six  statues  of  angels  of  smaller  size,  projecting 
from  the  frame  work,  surround  the  image  of  the  Immaculate  ^Mother. 
Two  of  these  placed  immediately  under  the  statue,  seem  to  invite  you 
to  say  with  them  :  Salve  regina.  Hail !  Holy  Queen.  The  four  others 
projecting  from  each  side  of  the  niche  continue  the  invocations,  Mother 
of  mercy,  our  life  and  sweetness,  and  our  hope.  ]SIary  is  the  queen  of 
angels,  and  those  holy  spirits  venerate  her  who  is  full  of  grace,  and 
implore  her  intercession  for  men. 


The  statue  in  the  niche  was  blessed,  in  the  name  of  Pious  IX..  December  8th,  1867. 
300  days  indul^^ence  may  be  gained  once  a  day  by  praying  before  this  picture  for  the  con- 
version of  sinners. 


CATnEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTIOX.    157 

Kolhing  need  be  stiid  about  the  throne  of  the  Bishop,  except  that 
its  sight  should  cause  you  to  return  thanks  to  God  ;  that  throne  beini,'- 
occupied  by  one  who  "was  placed  by  God  to  rule  the  church  of  God, 
which  he  hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood.      (Act.  xx.  28). 

The  very  large  and  beautiful  statue  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  our 
Lord,  lately  put  near  the  altar  of  St.  Anne,  is  a  gift  of  a  friend  of  the 
congregation  who  desires  to  sec  the  devotion  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  our 
Saviour  increase  amongst  us.  The  index  of  the  right  hand  pointing  to 
the  heart  reminds  us  of  the  words,  "Behold  this  heart  which  have 
loved  men  so  much."     ''  My  son  give  me  thy  heart." 


15S 


CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS 


STAINED    .GLASS    WINDOWS. 


The  stained  glass  windows  of  the  Cathedral  of  Burlington  are  very 
remarkable,  not  only  by  their  excellence  as  works  of  art,  but  chiefly 
because  they  were  so  selected  and  arranged  as  to  form  a  continuous 
and  complete  course  of  religious  instruction. 


WINDOWS     OF    THE    EAST    AISLE. 
Look  to  the   Right   when  you   enter  by   the   Front   Door. 


These    Windows   represent  the    Creed  or  Symbol  of  Faith 


I.     WINDOW.— ^7-s^  from  the  Tower  Door. 

rM.     -1-^  r  ^         •  ^  I  believe  in  Gocl. 

This  window  represents  the  Six  Daj'^sof  Creation,  and;Creator  of  heaven 
the  rest  on  the  Seventh  Day,  in  as  many  pictures.  1'^°'^  *''^''^'^- 

II.     WINDOW. 

All   the  articles  of   the  Creed  relating  to  our  Lord     t^^^  j^  j^g^, 
Jesus  Christ  are  represented  bv  an  equal  number  of  pic-  Christ.  His  only 

,  .         .     ,  '  *>on    our    Lord, 

who  was  concei- 
ved, &c. 

WINDOW. 


tures  in  this  window. 

Ill 
This  window  represents  the  Holy  Church 


I  believe  the  holy 
Foretold  by  the  holy  Prophets;  (see  the  two  upper; ^po^J),j(f(jifu"(.ij 

pictures)  ^^^c.  Creed). 

Planted  by  the  holy  Apostles  ; 
Watered  by  the  blood  of  the  holy  ^Martyrs  ; 
Instructed  by  the  holy  Doctors  ; 
Announced  by  the  holy  Confessors  ; 
Edified  by  the  holy  virgins  and  women. 

lY.     WINDOW. 

In  this  window  the  church  Apostolic  is  represented  in'Jf^Jain'J"X°toT. 
four  pictures,  viz  :  the  Commission  to  St.  Peter,  the  Mis-'^^.i^fncss  of  sins, 

_,..„,_,  .^  the    risurroction 

sion  of  the  Apostles,  the  Ordination  of  the  Seven  Deacons,  of  the  body  and 
and  the  preaching  of  baptism  and  penance.  'imen^'^^^*^""  ~~ 

The  church  Catholic  or  universal,  is  represented  by  the  four  figures 
of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America. 


CATHEDRA].  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION,    lot) 

The  Church  Militant,  is  represented  firmly  seated  on  the  rock, 
holding  the  keys  in  one  hand  and  the  cross  in  the  other. 

The  Church  f.iiffering — stretches  out  her  hands  to  the  Church  Mili- 
tant, from  the  midst  of  the  purging  llames. 

The  Resurrection  of  the  Body  is  represented  in  one  pannel. 

The  lower  figure  is  the  Church  tri a }n2:>hani— seated  in  glory,  and 
holding  palms  and  crowns  for  the  victors. 

WINDOWS    IN    THE    WEST    AISLE, 

llepresenting    the    Ten    Commandments. 


Look  to  your  Left  when   you.  enter  by  the  Front  Door. 


I      COMMANDME^STT. 

First   icindo2€  next  to  the  door. 

1.  Upper  Group. — A  family  adoring  God. 

2.  An  Angel  presenting  a  scroll,  with  the  words:      "Iain  the 

Lord  thy  God." 

3.  The  Jews  in  the  desert  worshiping  the  golden  calf.     Ex.  xx.i'ii. 

II      COMMAJsDMENT. — ScCOUd  WilldoW. 

1.  Upper  Group. — Angels  and  men  adoring  the  sacred  Name. 

2.  Angel,  with  a  scroll, — "  Thou  fthalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 

Lord  thy  God  in  vain.  " 

3.  Lower  picture. — The  Blasphemer  punished.     Lev.  xxiv :  14. 

Ill    COMMANDMENT. — Third  Windoic. 

1 .  Christians  assisting  at  Mass  on  the  Lord's  day. 

2.  Angel — "  Rememher  thou  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day.'' 

3.  Violator  of  the  Sabbath  punished.     Numb.  xv. 

» 
IV    COMMANDMENT. — Fourth  Windotc. 

1 .  Young  Tobias  anointing  the  eyes  of  his  blind  f athar.   Tob.  xi.  13. 

2.  Angel — "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother." 

3.  Death  of  Absalom,  the  bad  sen.     11  Kings,  xviii,  14. 


160  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

V  co:mmandmext. — Fifth   Windoic. 

1.  David  sparing  the  life  of  Saul,  bis  enemy,     i  Kings,  BG. 

2.  Angel—"  Thou  shall  not  kill:' 

3.  Cain  kills  his  brother  Abel,  and  is  cursed.     Gen.  iv. 

VI  COMMANDMENT. — Sixth   WincloW. 

1.  Prayer  of  Tobias  and  Sarah  after  their  marriage.     Tob.  viii. 

2.  Angel — "  Thou  shall  not  commit  adultery:" 

3.  Lot.  Destruction  of  Sodom  on  account  of  its  crimes.   Gen.  xix. 

VII    COMMANDMENT. — Seventh  Window. 

1.  Abraham  delivers  Lot,  and   restores  to  him   his  substance. 

Gen.  XIV. 

2.  Angel — "  Thou  shall  not  steal." 

3.  Josue  sentences  Achan  to  death  for  stealing.     Jos.  vii. 

VIII    COMMANDMENT — Eighth  Window. 

1.  Eleazcr  refuses  to  dissemble  and  suffers  death  in  consequence. 

II  Mach.  vi. 

2.  Angel—"  Thou  shall  not  hear  false  witness." 

3.  Susanna  falsely  accused  is  saved  by  Daniel.     Dan.  xiii. 

IX  COMMANDMENT. — Ninth  Windoic. 

1.  Joseph  resists  the  solicitations  of  the  wife  of  Potiphar.     Gen: 

xxxix. 

2.  Angel—"  Thou  shall  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife." 

3.  David  punished  for  his  adultery,     ii  Kings,  xii. 

X  COMMANDMENT. — Tenth  Window. 

1      Matthew  leaving  his  counter  to  follow  Jesus.     Mat.  ix. 

2.  Angel—"  Thou  shall  not  covet  thy  imghbor's  goods." 

3.  Elias  foretells  his  punishment  to  Naboth.     iii  Kings,  21. 


CA  THEDUA L  OF  THE  IMMACUL .  1  TE  CONCEPT  10 X.    1 01 
WINDOWS    OF    WEST    TRANSEPT. 

In  these  three  windows  one  subject  is  repre.sented  of  whieh  the 
conception  is  admirable — Christ  has  expired  on  the  Cross — His  eternal 
Father  accepts  the  sacrifice  ;  through  Him  the  penitent  receives  pardon, 
and  the  sinner  punishment — the  merits  of  His  sacrifice  are  applied  to 
our  souls  through  the  sacraments  of  the  church. 

In  the  foliated  pannels  of  the  large  window,  angels  hold  up  the 
instruments  of  the  Passion,  the  Crown  of  Thorns,  the  Pillar,  Lance, 
Hammer,  Nails,  &c.     Below,  God,  surrounded  with  angels  ;  with  out 
stretched  arms,  and  beholding  His  Son,  seems  to  accept  the  victim 
which  has  voluntarily  died  on  the  Cross  for  the  redemption  of  men. 

Angels  look  down  at  the  scene  on  Calvary,  wondering  as  it  were,  at 
the  extent  of  God's  love  towards  man  ;  tw^o  of  them  holding  on  a  scroll 
the  w^ords  of  the  expiring  Saviour — In  Thy  hands.  Oh!  Lord,  I  com- 
mend my  spirit. 

On  the  Cross  Jesus  Christ  has  expired,  and  the  lance  has  opened 
His  side  ;  but  the  Robbers  are  yet  living. 

The  dark  ground,  in  the  rear  of  the  Cross,  refers  to  the  darkness 
which  covered  the  earth.  Mary  to  the  right  stands  yet  by  the  Cross, 
but  in  deep  agony  mingled  with  resignation  ;  John,  the  beloved  disciple, 
and  apostle  of  Love,  stands  to  the  left.  As  to  the  blinded  figure,  it 
represents  the  Synagogue  which  in  its  blindness  would  not  receive 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  Messiah,— and  whose  standard  has  been  broken  ;  its 
authority  is  gone. 

In  the  figure  opposite  we  have  a  beautiful  emblem  of  the  Church, 
— her  standard  is  the  Cross  oi  Him  who  delivered  himself  up  tor  her.  Her 
garments  are  beautiful ;  her  features  are  youthful  and  noble ;  she 
wears  the  Diadem  of  Authority,  and  her  brow  is  encircled  with  the 
nimbus  or  halo  of  holiness.  (See  Eph.  V.  25  et  seq).  To  her  was  given 
the  mission  of  sanctifying  mankind,  and  she  holds  up  in  her  left  hand 
the  cup  of  our  Saviour's  merits,  as  the  only  source  of  sanctification  to 
men . 

The  skull  and  bones  on  the  ground,  close  to  the  cross,  remind  us  of 
Death,  which  entered  the  world  by  Adam's  disobedience  ;  but  Christ 
has  destroyed  it  by  His  own  death,  and  given  us  a  pledge  of  a  glorious 
resurrection. 

The  fiery  serpent  curled  around  the  Cross,  whose  head  has  been 
crushed,  reminds  us  that  Christ  by  Death  has  destroyed  him  who  had  the 
empire  of  Deeith,  that  is  to  say,  the  Devil. 

Other  Demons  in  three  pannels  belo^v  seem  astounded  at  their  over- 
throw, yet  determined  to  wage  war  against  their  conqueror  ;  and  ob- 
durate in  their  hatred. 

11 


162  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

Let  ns  next  examine  the  window  to  the  ri^dit  of  this  larger  window. 
It  represents  the  imiitcnt  Rohher  on  the  Cross.  In  the  trifoil  of  this 
window  the  guardian  angel  looks  down  with  complacency  on  this  soul 
committed  to  his  care,  about  to  leave  the  body,  in  sentiments  of  resigna- 
tion, hope  and  repentance.  On  the  top  of  his  cross  another  angel  assists 
him  in  his  agony.  A  young  babe,  reposing  calmly  in  the  arm  of  a  third 
angel,  represents  the  soul  of  the  Robber  carried  into  heaven,  and  re- 
ceived there  by  angels.  As  to  the  dying  man,  himself,  after  invoking 
the  mercv  of  Christ,  whose  innocence  and  power  he  confessed,  he  con- 
tinues  beholding  from  his  own  cross,  the  Saviour  who  promised  him  a 
share  in  His  kingdom. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  higher  window,  you  have  the  death  of  the 
tricked  Robber.  His  angel  in  the  trifoil  covers  his  face  in  his  hand  for 
sorrow  ;  for  the  irickcd  Robber  he  blasphemed  him,  notwithstanding  the 
proofs  he  had  witnessed  of  his  power  and  dignity ;  hence  a  Devil  stays 
bv  him  on  the  cross,  ready  to  devour  his  soul  and  inciting  him  to  per- 
severe  impenitent.  Yet  he  continues  to  look  at  Jesus,  now  dead,  but 
with  a  marked  expression  of  anguish,  obduracy  and  despair.  A  few 
moments  more  his  sinful  soul  shall  have  left  his  body.  A  demon  will 
now  seize  that  soul  (represented  by  a  baby)  and  notwithstanding  its 
fruitless  resistance,  hand  it  to  another  wicked  spirit  who  drags  it  into 

hell. 

Here,  then,  we  have  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  rewarding  penitent, 
and  punishing  obdurate  sinners,  at  the  moment  of  their  death. 

In  order  to  understand  the  whole  of  this  tableau,  you  should  now 
inspect  the  lower  pannels  of  the  three  windows  together,  beginning 
from  your  left  to  the  right,  not  forgetting  that  every  thing  here  relates 
to  Jesus  Christ  crucified.  He  died  to  sanctify  men  ;  but  the  merits  of 
His  death  are  to  be  applied  to  cur  souls,  and  the  Church  has  received 
this  office.  She  holds  the  cup  of  her  Saviour's  merits,  and  pours  them 
on  our  souls  to  cleanse,  strengthen  and  beautify  thein.  This  she  does 
by  administering  her  Sacrammis :  and  these  channels  of  santification 
convey  grace  to  her  children  through  all  the  different  stages  of  their 

life  on  earth. 

The  infant  is  baptized  (first  panned)  and  is  purified  from  sin  by  the 
laver  of  Regeneration  and  Renovation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

That  infant  has  become  a  child  ;  he  is  strengthened  by  confirma- 
tion, administered  to  him  by  a  Bishop  (second  pannel).  They  impssed 
their  hands  upon  them  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost. 

As  this  child  grows  in  age,  his  temptations  become  stronger,  he  is 
exposed  to  fall  into  sin.  He  receives  Communion,  (third  pannel)  which 
upjtcs  him  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  beconies  the  food  of  his  soul, 


CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTIOX.    1G3 

What  will  become  of  our  soul  after  sin  lias  been  committed,  if  no 
means  are  to  be  found  to  remove  it  ?  (fourth  pannel).  If  ice  confess  our 
sins  God  is  faithful  wJio  icill  remit  them  to  vs.  Confession,  however, 
should  be  made  with  a  penitent  heart,  and  to  the  successors  of  those  to 
whom  Christ  said — whose  sins  you  shall  f org  ire,  they  are  forgiven  them. 

Christ  has  not  fori^-ct  the  dying.  Extreme  Unction  prepares  the 
soul  for  eternit}^,  (liflli  pannel).  Tiring  ia  the  Priests  of  the  Church,  and 
let  tliemitray  oecr  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Tjynl. 
See  Jas.  v  :   14  and  15. 

The  sacrament  of  Ordination  (sixth  pannel)  conveys  ..grace  and 
power  to  the  recipient ;  and  the  church  is  in  this  way  provided  with 
ministers  to  guide  and  sanctify  her  children. 

Marriage  (seventh  pannel)  is  a  great  Sacrament  in  Christ  and  in  the 
Church.  Through  the  worthy  reception  of  this  rite,  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ  being  applied  to  their  souls,  the  husband  and  wife  receive 
grace  to  love  one  another,  and  bring  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of 
God. 

To  lovers  of  art,  we  would  say  to  visit  these  three  windows 
toward  evening— to  all,  we  would  say,  when  you  examine  the  scene 
before  you,  remember  that  God  loved  you  ;  that  Christ  thought  of  ycni 
when  he  died  ;  that  for  you  He  established  the  Church,  and  appointed 
it  to  administer  the  life-giving  Sacraments ;  linally,  that  He  will 
reward  or  punish  your  soul  as  soon  as  it  will  leave  your  body,  as  He 
rewarded  the  penitent  and  punished  the  impenitent  sinner. 

EAST    TRANSEPT    WINDOWS. 
The  Last  or  General  Judgment. 


Jesus  Christ  will  come  from  Heaven  at  the  last  day  to  judge  all  men. 

The  trumpet  shall  sound  and  the  dead  shall  rise.     He  will  say  to  the  just, 

come  ye  Blessed  of  my  father,  &c.  ;  I  was  hungry  and  ye  gavs  me  to  eat, 

<&c.     He  will  say  to  the  wicked,  depart  from  me  ye  cursed  into  everlasting 

fire. 

Such  are  the  scenes  represented  in  the  three  windows  of  this  Tran- 
sept. The  chief  figure  here  is  that  of  Christ,  the  judge,  pronouncing 
the  sentence.      Every  thing  else  in  the  tableau  relates  to  Him. 

In  the  foliated  part  of  the  large  window,  Almighty  God  {the 
Ancient  of  Days)  is  adored  by  angels,  and  is  represented  with  emblems 
of  His  power  and  eternity.  He  has  given  the  judgment  to  His  Son, 
who  came  on  earth  to  teach  men  and  to  die  for  them. 


164  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

The  Son  of  Man  appears  in  «^-lory  and  majest}-,  surrounded  by 
auirels  ;  a  cruciform  halo  encircles  His  head,  and  a  bright  aureola 
shines  around  His  whole  person.  In  his  hands,  we  see  the  print  of  the 
nails.  To  his  right  an  angel  holds  up  the  Cross,  the  emblem  of  Salva- 
tion, at  whose  sight  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  mourn.  To  His  left 
another  angel  holds  the  scale  (symbol  of  judgment),  and  a  book  on  which 
there  is  written,— 77/ ^i/  that  hare  done  good  shall  come  forth  unto  the 
Resurrection  of  Life,  hut  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  Resurrection  of 
Judgment.     {John  5  :  SO). 

Seven  angels  with  trumpets,  turned  towards  all  the  pai-1s  of  the 
Glole,  call  on  the  dead  to  rise  and  come  to  Judgment. 

This  group  is  represented  as  floating  in  the  clouds. 

Another  group  below  represents  the  dead  risen  or  rising,  whilst  in 
the  back  ground,  buildings  are  seen  burning,  and  tumbling  to  the 
ground,  to  remind  us  of  the  last  conflagration. 

Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  this  resurrection  of  the  Dead, 
for  they  seem  to  be  conscious  of  their  fate.  Hope,  love,  shame  or 
despair  are  written  in  their  actions  and  features.  The  elect  turn  towards 
Christ,  their  eyes  in  joy,  and  vrould  fly  to  Him  ;  the  reprobate  would 
fain  sink  back  in  the  earth. 

The  Judgment  itself  is  not  represented,  but  you  have  the  sentence. 
The  smaller  window,  to  the  right  of  Christ,  contains,  written  on  a  scroll, 
the  w^ords  of  Christ  to  the  just— Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  dr.,  and 
you  see  them  go  up  in  body  and  soul  to  meet  Christ  in  the  air  ;  their 
body  being  now  glorified,  incorruptible,  they  shall  go  to  life  everlasting 
in  the  company  of  their  guardian  angels,— they  seem  already  to  realize 
the  fullness  of  their  reward. 

The  smaller  window,  to  the  left  of  Christ,  shows  written  on  a 
.scroll  the  dreadful  sentence— Depart  fro7n  me  you  cursed  into  everlasting 
j/;.^_its  execution  is  also  reprcEcnted.  Faithful  angels  with  flaming 
swords  banish  the  wicked  from  the  face  of  Christ.  Their  costly  dress, 
and  high  position  does  not  save  the  reprobate  ;  serpents  are  curled 
round  their  body,  they  are  seized  and  led  towards  hell  by  Demons  who 
will  lay  on  torments  in  their  fury.  In  the  flames  which  escape  from  the 
abyss  you  see  the  figures  of  two  other  reprobates  who  lost  Heaven  and 
are  already  burning. 

You  should  now  examine  the  seven  lower  pannels  of  those  three 
windows.  To  feed  the  hungry  ;  give  drink  to  the  thirsty  ;  clothe  the 
naked  ;  harbor  the  harborless  ;  visit  the  sick  and  prisoners  ;  and  to 
bury  the  dead,— such  are  the  works  of  mercy.  They  shall  have  a  par- 
ticular reward  at  the  last  dtiy.  provided  they  have  not  neglected  to  fulfil 


CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION.    105 

the  other  Commandmonls.     The  seven  pannels  are  emblems,  or  rather 
liistorical  instances,  of  works  of  charity. 

1st.     St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  feeding-  the  poor.    (See  iier  life  by 
Count  de  Montelembert). 

;2nd.     Christ  at  tlic  well,  asking  the  woman  of  Samaria  to  give 
Him  a  drink. 

3d.     St.  ]\Iartin,  the  young  Roman  Catechumen  and  soldier,  giving 
the  one  half  of  his  cloak  of  a  cold  morning  to  a  poor  man. 

4th.     A  monk  leads  the  wearied  and  stray  traveller  to  his  Convent. 

oth.     The   good   Samaritan   dressing  tlie  wounds  of    the    Jew, 
wounded  by  robbers. 

Oth.     St.  Vincent  of  Paul  visiting  the  prisoners. 

Tth.     Tobias  (the  Captive  of  Nineveh)  burying  the  dead. 


CLERESTORY    WINDOWS. 

Nineteen  windows  light  up  the  ceiling  of  the  nave.  Being  very 
high  up  and  of  small  size,  they  have  been  filled  with  stained  glass  con- 
taining simply  an  emblem  or  memorial, — the  series  commences  near  the 
organ  gallery  at  the  right  when  you  go  in  through  the  front  door 
Hence,  in  order  to  see  them,  you  should  go  to  the  opposite  side,  or  to 
the  west  aisle. 

They  all  refer  to  circumstances  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  or  the  establishment  and  destiny  of  the  Church.  Under  each 
window  you  see  a  text  written  on  the  wall ;  read  it  before  you  look  at 
the  emblem,  and  you  will  at  once  understand  what  it  represents.  By 
example— the  first  emblem  is  the  Cup  of  Agony,  and  the  text  under 
reads, — Father,  if  thou  ipill,  remove  this  cup  from  me. 

The  casting  of  lots  upon  the  seamless  Coat  of  Christ  is  the  last  em- 
blem relating  to  His  passion.     (West  Transept). 

The  Lamb  with  the  standard  (west  side  of  the  nave)  reminds  us  of 
His  victory  and  power. 

The  Keys  and  Tiara,  the  gospel  and  the  Dove  (typifying  the  Holy 
Ghost)  relate  to  the  promises  made  to  St.  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles. 

The  last  emblem,  the  bark  of  Peter,  relates  to  the  indefectibility  of 
the  Church. 


166  CATHOLIC    MEMOIRS. 

WINDOW    OF     THE    SACRED    HEART. 

Placed   over  the   Front   Side  Door. 


It  represents  the  heart  of  our  Saviour,  with  the  Cross,  the  Crown 
of  Thorns,  and  Flames  of  Fire,  as  emblems  of  his  love  towards  men. 

Blessed  Margaret  Mary  is  also  represented,  adoring  the  Sacred 
Heart. 

(This  window,  given  by  the  congregation,  is  a  memorial  of  the 
Mission  of  1870). 

THE  WINDOW  ABOVE  THE  ORGAN, 

Represents  St.  Cecilia  the  patroness  of  Sacred  Song,  singing  the  praise 
of  the  Lord.  This  is  the  gift  of  the  Young  Men's  Catholic  Union  of 
the  City  of  Burlington. 


CONTENTS. 


PAor. 
St.  Joseph.     Devotion  to  St.   Joseph  in  Canada.      Ahar  of  St. 

Joseph  in  Burlington  Cathedral 5 

tSister  Fanny  Allen — the  convert  of   St.  Joseph 12 

Kev.  Daniel  Barber.     His  Life  and  Conversion 24 

Letters  of  Rev.  Daniel  Barber 36 

Kev.  Virgil  Horace  Barber,  S.  J.     The  Convert  of  St.   Francis 

Xavier CO 

Mistress  Jerusha  Barber — in  religion,    Sister  Mary  Aiigiistin 85 

Letters  of  Sister  Mary  Augustin 104 

Children  of  Virgil  and  Jerusha  Barber 116 

Mary  Barber— in  religion,  Sister  Mary  Benedicta    116 

Mary  Abigail  Barber — in  religion,  Sister  Francis  Xavier 119 

Susan  Barber — in  religion,  Sister  Mary  St.  Joseph 127 

Reverend  Samuel  Barber,  S.  J 122 

Rev.  William  H.  Hoyt,  late  of  St.  Anne's  Church,  New  York. 

His  Life,  and  Remarkable  Death 128 

Mistress  Anne  Hoyt 144 

The  Hill  of  St.  Joseph I47 

Conclusion 150 

Cathedral  of  Burlington.     Its  Interior  Decorations 153 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Rev.  William  H.  Hoyt.     Frontispiece. 

Altar  to  St.  Joseph.     Memorial  of  the  apparition  to  Fanny  Allen,     10 

St.  Mary's  Church,  and  Rev.  Virgil  Barber's  Academy,  Claremont, 

New  Hampshire 63 

Cathedral  of  Burlington 152 


Preas  of  K,  S.  Styles,  Barlington,  Vt.     1886, 


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